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 . Then , in her speech , Sen. Clinton herself took a moment to mention Tubbs Jones and her son . `` Steadfast in her beliefs , a fighter of uncommon grace , she was an inspiration to me and to us all , '' Clinton said . `` Our heart goes out to Stephanie 's son , Mervyn Jr. '' The public moment of recognition was the result of years of friendship. `` I remember the first time President Clinton ran for office [ in 1992 ] , '' Jones Jr. told CNN . `` He came to Cleveland . I must have been 8 years old . `` My mother got the chance to meet him . ... They have been best of friends ever since , '' he said . And , perhaps , it was also a reminder that if you stand by the Clintons , the Clintons will stand by you . 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 Obama instead . Tubbs Jones , however , held steadfast even as others in her position switched their allegiance . `` I 'm going to be with her until she says , 'Stephanie , I 'm no longer in this fight . You 're free to do something else , ' '' Tubbs Jones told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer in March . `` In politics , all you have is your word , '' she added . She passed that same sense of commitment on to her son . `` If you give somebody your word , you 're going to go ahead and do it , '' Jones Jr. said the day after Hillary Clinton 's address to the Democratic National Convention . `` Otherwise , it 's not worth anything . '' `` The same goes in politics , '' he added . `` If you do n't have your word , you do n't really have anything to stand on in politics . So , that 's one thing I did learn [ from my mother ] at a very early age . '' When Sen. Clinton asked Jones Jr. to sit with her husband during what was perhaps her most important speech to date , he agreed . `` She always said that if you do n't stick by somebody in the bad times , you never know how good the good times are going to be , '' Jones Jr. said , explaining his mother 's view of loyalty . Tubbs Jones , 58 , died suddenly a week ago of a brain aneurysm . She was in her fifth term in the House of Representatives and was the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in the House . What would Tubbs Jones have thought of Sen. Clinton 's call Tuesday for Democrats to unify behind Obama ? `` She would 've been standing up , hooting and hollering saying , 'Wow . That 's exactly what we needed . Way to be a team player , ' '' Jones Jr. said . In what some political analysts were calling the first speech of her second campaign for president , Hillary Clinton did her part on stage . 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 American politics .
Bill Clinton 's silent embrace of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones ' son resonated loudly . Tubbs Jones , 58 , died suddenly a week ago of a brain aneurysm . The congressman was the first black woman elected to Congress from Florida in 40 years and one of only two African Americans on Florida's congressional delegation.