Cliff Thornton
{{Short description|American Green Party activist}}
{{About||the American jazz musician|Clifford Thornton}}
Clifford "Cliff" W. Thornton, Jr. (born January 16, 1945, in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American drug policy reform advocate{{cite book |last=Geluardi |first=John |date= 2016|title= Cannabiz: The Explosive Rise of the Medical Marijuana Industry|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bwdZCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22clifford+thornton%22+drug+reform&pg=PA112|location= |publisher= Taylor & Francis|page= 112|isbn=9781317262824}} and Green politician who served as one of the seven co-chairs of the Green Party of the United States.
Career
In the 1990s, Thornton founded Efficacy, a non-profit advocacy group to educate about drug policy reform.{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Laurence D. |date=1999-11-07 |title=Fighting The War Against Drug Policy |page=39 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Connecticut |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109378442/fighting-the-war-against-drug-policy/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109379165/should-marijuana-be-legalized-in/|date=1997-08-23|page= 6|title=Should marijuana be legalized in Connecticut? Yes. Laws have created a black market|newspaper=Hartford Courant|location=Hartford, Connecticut|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=2022-09-11}}Associated Press (August 3, 1998) [https://books.google.com/books?id=LpZGAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Cliff+Thornton%22+drug+reform&pg=PA8&article_id=4306,464325 "Windsor couple work to solve drug problem by legalizing narcotics"], The Day.
From 2003 to 2008, Thornton spoke to over 400,000 people on drug reform in 750 venues around the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand. Thornton appeared on over 400 radio shows and numerous television spots on drug policy reform as it relates to health, race/class and economics. He is described as "America's foremost anti-Drug War African American activist" by Amherst College's online newspaper.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Kevin |date=2003-12-14 |title=Labour MP promotes visit by legal-drugs advocate |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/labour-mp-promotes-visit-by-legal-drugs-advocate/BCEAGQD7J5OSD3FTJQYDRTGNGU/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}} Thornton, a retired telephone company executive, also speaks on education, and health care.
In 2006, Thornton was the nominee of the Connecticut Green Party for Governor.{{Cite news |last=Bass |first=Paul |date=2006-02-12 |title=3rd-Party Candidate's 1st-Class Issue |page=NE16 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Connecticut |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109378240/3rd-party-candidates-1st-class-issue/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |via=Newspapers.com}} He was the first African American candidate to appear on the general election ballot for Governor of Connecticut. Some political analysts commended Thornton for his strong stance on drug policy reform.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109378730/thorntons-stance-on-drugs/|date=2006-02-19|page= NE02|title=Thornton's Stance On Drugs|newspaper=Hartford Courant|location=Hartford, Connecticut|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=2022-09-11}} In October 2006, Thornton was initially invited to a gubernatorial debate co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and The Day newspaper of New London, before being uninvited due to a disagreement among the debate sponsors regarding his eligibility for participation.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=20061002&id=cxIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LHUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6293,168754&hl=en|title=Sponsors Disagree On Including Green Party in Gubernatorial Debate|last=Haigh|first=Susan|date=October 2, 2006|work=The Hour|page=A3|accessdate=31 August 2015}} His campaign received 9,583 votes for just under one percent of the overall vote.{{Cite web |last=Keating |first=Christopher |date=2022-09-11 |title=Connecticut Republicans trying to win attorney general's office for first time in more than 60 years in 3-way battle |url=https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-attorney-general-tong-kordas-20220911-pzfigeqezzf55htlghjlnhczpm-story.html |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Hartford Courant}}
In 2007, Thornton received the Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action from the Drug Policy Alliance.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_12_02.shtml |title=Green Party leader to receive award from the Drug Policy Alliance for leadership in drug law reform |access-date=2008-05-07 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080507193741/http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_12_02.shtml |archive-date=2008-05-07 |url-status=dead }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.efficacy-online.org/ Efficacy], Thornton's drug policy reform site.
- {{YouTube|ZqV4w2vVptU|Eliminate Tuition! 2006 campaign commercial}}
- {{YouTube|TN3ck1rZN6c|Free Higher Education 2006 campaign commercial}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Cliff}}
Category:20th-century African-American people
Category:American drug policy reform activists
Category:African-American activists
Category:African-American people in Connecticut politics
Category:Green Party of the United States chairs
Category:Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut
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