DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- It was classic Clinton. It was Sen. Hillary Clinton's big night but before her speech even began, former President Bill Clinton reached out in his box and firmly embraced a young African-American man. Clinton gripped the young man tightly; to millions watching on television, it was clear he could feel Mervyn Jones Jr.'s pain. As he sat down for his wife's headlining address, Bill Clinton's silent embrace of the 25-year-old son of recently deceased Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones resonated loudly. Rep. Tubbs Jones, of course, was a solid and loyal Clinton supporter, standing by the Clintons even when many other black leaders were shifting their support to Barack Obama.
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Bill Clinton's silent embrace of  Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones' son resonated loudly
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Tubbs Jones, 58, died suddenly a week ago of a brain aneurysm
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The public moment of recognition was the result of years of friendship
Barack Obama
Tubbs Jones endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in April 2007 but with Sen. Barack Obama's success during the primaries, many African-American superdelegates came under pressure to back @placeholder instead.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Tubbs Jones
Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Tubbs Jones
@placeholder, however, held steadfast even as others in her position switched their allegiance.
Mervyn Jones Jr.
"She always said that if you don't stick by somebody in the bad times, you never know how good the good times are going to be," @placeholder said, explaining his mother's view of loyalty.
American
And, in the box, her husband held on tightly to the son of an old friend ­and sent a message of his own that may resonate as an important moment in the long-term resurrection of the Clinton brand in @placeholder politics.