MLK confidant dines with Rockville Centre leaders

Political and religious leaders of Rockville Centre broke bread on Jan. 5 with the man whom Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. looked to for counsel and friendship.

In the village to discuss an upcoming book project just days before the commemoration of King’s birthday, Clarence B. Jones regaled fellow diners, including Mayor Francis Murray, Monsignor William Koenig and Rabbi Barry Dov Schwartz, with personal tales of King and his own insights into everything from the upcoming presidential election to football at Stanford University, where he lives and teaches in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education institute.

 “I am constantly asked to interpret what I think [King] would say today, but I can only interpret what I think he would say based on my,” Jones explained. “If I could distill the essence of the things he used to say, the most difficult challenge in human relationships is the concept of forgiveness, redemption and reconciliation.

Jones added, “[King] was committed to the pursuit of personal excellence, of being the very best that you can be, and of course to forswear violence, unconditionally.”

As his advisor, Jones played a large part in King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” delivered during the march on Washington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963.

Jones had, prior to the march, given King suggested text that he could then improvise with during the speech. When Jones began listening to King at the lectern, however, he realized that a great deal of the first half of the speech was taken directly from Jones’s outline.

It was not until someone from the crowd called out to King that he completely went off of the written speech and, as Jones puts it, assumed the stance of a Baptist preacher.

“At some point, Mahalia Jackson shouts out to him, interrupts him, and says ‘tell them about the dream, Martin, tell them about the dream.’” Jones said. “I watched him take the text of what he was reading and move it to the side and I said to somebody standing next to me that these people don’t know it, but they’re about ready to go to church.”

Jones, who turned 81 on Jan. 8, was in Rockville Centre to discuss an upcoming project with his associate Leon Kassman. The pair is working on a coffee table book which taps into the hearts and minds of Americans directly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The mayor said he appreciated the opportunity to meet Jones and hear his experiences personally.

“I was in awe of being in his presence,” Murray said. “He‘s American history, sitting right next to me and his stories about Dr. King were amazing.”