Xernona Clayton Interview: The Heart and Soul of Martin Luther King Jr.
Xernona Clayton, civil rights icon and one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest friends, shares her heartfelt memories of the legendary civil rights leader in this interview with Life Stories. From birthday celebrations to preparing for King’s funeral, Clayton’s narrative offers a window into the soul of one of the world’s greatest changemakers.
Xernona Clayton was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She graduated from Tennessee State Agricultural and Industrial College and completed her graduate degree from the University of Chicago. Clayton began her career in the Civil Rights Movement with the National Urban League in Chicago before moving to Atlanta in 1965 and working side by side with Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1967 she became the first African American in the Southeast to have her own prime-time television talk show, The Xernona Clayton Show, broadcast on the local CBS affiliate. By 1970, Clayton joined Turner Broadcasting System, where she spent thirty years as a corporate executive including Corporate Vice President for Urban Affairs.
From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “King in the Wilderness” that follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the last years of his life: from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, through personal stories of the people who were around him.
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Chapter Markers:
00:00:33 - First meeting Dr. King
00:01:54 - Joining the SCLC
00:03:14 - Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolence
00:05:57 - Stand against Vietnam
00:07:38 - Birthday celebration
00:10:34 - Dr. King as a friend
00:13:48 - Learning of the assassination
00:16:20 - Supporting Coretta Scott King
00:17:11 - Preparing for Dr. King’s funeral
00:20:35 - Dr. King’s funeral
00:22:38 - Public viewing of Dr. King
00:26:24 - Dr. King’s love of people
00:29:57 - Legacy and remembrance
Xernona Clayton, Friend and Organizer, SCLC
Interview By: Trey Ellis
Interview Date: March 28, 2017
© Home Box Office and Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
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