Clarence JONES: “Mahalia Jackson exclaimed: ‘Tell them about your dream, Martin!’ – and he started improvising”

Clarence Jones is called the co-author of the famous speech “I Have a Dream,” delivered by Martin Luther King 50 years ago during mass rallies in Washington, DC. It became the most vivid point of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and is recognized as the best speech of the 20th century by American scholars of public address. Jones himself is much more modest about his role in the preparation of the speech and does not claim to be a co-author. He was King’s friend, lawyer, and political advisor, so he regularly helped him with text preparation for speeches and articles. After his friend died, Jones did not leave the movement and did not lose faith in non-violent resistance. In the United States he became famous as human rights activist, and he dedicated his life to spreading the information about King’s activity and his humanist ideas. At the same time, he built a successful career at Wall Street and became the first African-American at the New York stock exchange.

King described Jones as a “person with a bright mind, deep insights, extremely dedicated and self-sufficient.” I had an opportunity to talk to this person about his cooperation with Dr. King, the Civil Rights Movement, Barrack Obama’s election, the Orange Revolution, and of course, “The Dream.”

You were King’s speechwriter and helped him with the preparation of articles and speeches. You are called a co-author of his famous speech “I Have a Dream,” which he delivered on August 28, 1963. What was your contribution to all this?

“I do not view myself as an author of the speech, since I only prepared a few theses and paragraphs, which I advised to use. The speech was not written in one night. Dr. King discussed what he should say with me and other colleagues for three weeks before. In order to facilitate the preparation process, I wrote a draft with starting paragraphs. Until I heard them on the day of the speech, I did not know whether he would use them or no. I just stood there and listened to him along with everyone. And then I heard that he uttered the first six or seven paragraphs without any changes. But then he continued with his own material. It should be understood that the famous parts of ‘I Have a Dream’ were not prepared in advance. They were absolutely spontaneous, it was pure improvisation. And it started as an answer to Mahalia Jackson, Martin Luther King’s favorite gospel singer, who performed on the stage before him. She was nearby during the speech, and at some point she exclaimed: ‘Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about your dream!’ And these words prompted King to leave the prepared text and start this spontaneous improvisation by using the phrase ‘I have a dream.’”

The speech became a crucial moment of the Civil Rights Movement, which started back in 1955. When did you join the movement and how did you meet King?

“I wrote two books about our cooperation, and told the story of our acquaintance in great detail in both of them. It happened in 1960, when I was 29. After I served in the army during the Korean War, I studied at the Boston University School of Law and moved to California. One day, George Hubert Delaney phoned me from New York and said: ‘I am Martin Luther King’s leading lawyer. He is accused of tax fraud. Three other lawyers are working with me on this case, but we need assistance of such expert as you to clarify all the financial details.’”

Your movement was also supported by the white population of the United States. How important was this support?

“It was extremely important. Martin Luther King understood that we could not succeed unless we convinced the white population of the US, which was 88 percent of the US citizens then. We had to help them realize that racial segregation is immoral, that everyone should have equal rights, that it was in their best interests. We understood one simple truth: if we succeeded at this, racial segregation would simply disappear. Besides, the support of the white majority gave a quantity boost to our movement, brought it up to a whole new level.”

By the way, musicians were a good example of white Americans’ participation in the movement, in particular, members of the band Peter, Paul, and Mary. They were considered the music icons of the movement. If I am not mistaken, they performed on the day of the speech ‘I Have a Dream’ too.

“This is true. They were at that demonstration and performed with the already mentioned Mahalia Jackson and Bob Dylan. I knew Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers. Peter and Mary were my close friends. Unfortunately, Mary deceased. But Peter still is my dear friend. He radiates kindness and love. For me, he is the best example of our movement support by white artists and people from artistic circles. However, there were many such vivid examples. The trio Peter, Paul, and Mary was a model of that part of white population of the United States which understood that elimination of segregation is in the best interests of the entire country, that America will not be a truly free state until African Americans became free.”

The Civil Rights Movement headed by King was non-violent. King insisted on this type of behavior. But everything ended tragically: doctor King himself was assassinated, and a wave of unrest rolled over the country. Did you lose faith in the non-violent approach to struggle back then?

“It is important to mention that my dear friend and colleague Martin Luther King was not the only victim of violence and murders in the 1960s. President John Kennedy, and later his brother Robert, who was a senator and ran for presidency, were killed too. Malcolm X, Muslim preacher and fighter for African Americans’ rights, died a similar death too. So, four outstanding leaders, who participated or supported the Civil Rights Movement, were murdered during those years.

“The murder of doctor King became a personal challenge for me in terms of devotion to non-violent methods of struggle. My reaction in the first moments after I learned he was shot was: ‘They finally got him.’ Because my colleagues and I, who constantly worked with King, were witnesses of numerous threats that were often sent to him. So, there was no question whether Martin Luther King would be murdered or not. The question was, when it would happen.

“King was a real apostle in the Civil Rights Movement for us. And after this tragedy, it was important for us, and for me personally, not to give in to the fury, to the bitterness that we all experienced. I understood that since I was his friend and shared his beliefs, I had to continue with his cause. But during those days I was in serious doubt as to whether I could stay in the United States and go on with the struggle. Not because I was afraid, but because I could rashly do stupid things. However, my common sense won and I continued with King’s cause and did not lose faith in our movement.”

Was it possible to imagine at that moment that an African American would become the president of the United States in your lifetime?

“I think that the election of Barack Obama, senator for Illinois, as the president of the US is the evidence of how fundamentally the Civil Rights Movement has changed the United States. This struggle made it possible that a president was elected from the African American population, which had no civil rights whatsoever 50 years ago.”

Did you meet with Barack Obama after he was elected? What did you tell him, considering your experience, age, and the struggle you went through?

“We do not have any personal ties. But I had an honor to be invited to a meeting with him and talk to him in person. I also keep on receiving offers to meet again in the Oval Office. It is very hard to arrange a new meeting, since we both have heavily loaded schedules. However, the invitation is still valid.

“I can tell you what I told him on January 19, 2012, when I received an award from the Georgetown University. The ceremony took place at the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. The president and the first lady were also present. The hall was full. When I addressed the president, I said that when I watched the official announcement that he was elected president of the United States, people that I was in a room with, cried tears of joy. Those were my colleagues from the Martin Luther King Institute at Stanford University. And when I was asked whether I cried too, I said I did not. I said that my tears had been cried for all those people, who lost their lives for this to become true. For Martin Luther King and all other human rights activists who became victims of repressions and murders. After these words, the president and the whole audience of the Kennedy Center rose and applauded for at least a minute.”

If we talk about the consequences of the movement for you personally, there is an interesting fact: you are called the first African American at Wall Street. What do they mean?

“I was the only child in the family. My parents worked as servants: my mother worked in a kitchen and my father was a gardener and driver. They did not have college education. My father completed eight years of school, and my mom received only four years of primary education. But they did their best to help me get a good education.

“When I worked as Martin Luther King’s lawyer and political advisor, a part of my business interests related to various kinds of entrepreneurial activity, and as a result, I was invited to become a partner in the investment company Carter, Berlind & Well. I think, it was in 1966, and it was the first time in the history, when an African American became a partner in a company that worked at Wall Street.”

This is your first visit to Ukraine. What did you know about our country before it?

“I know what the majority knows about Ukraine from TV and papers we read. A few years ago, Ukraine was an object of frequent discussions because of the Orange Revolution. There were many publications, which attracted people’s attention. I think that Ukraine has changed after the Orange Revolution, just like the United States has changed after the Civil Rights Movement, and it will never be the same again. Moreover, your country became an inspiration and a great example of non-violent resistance for their rights to people of the whole world.”

Could you compare the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s in the US and events of 2004 and 2005 in Ukraine? Can they be compared at all? If so, what common features can you pick out?

“They have a number of common features, but there are significant differences as well. In both cases, people fought to receive equal treatment. Certainly, there were no problems with racial discrimination in Ukraine, but people fought for a just attitude towards them. And I think that the leaders who succeeded in providing the non-violent nature of the struggle must be honored. Non-violent resistance is one of the main common features of these two movements.”

You can be called a lawyer, banker, scientist, teacher, writer, and human rights activist. What is your main activity as of today?

“Oh, I am not all those things at once! Those are the professions I was occupied with in various periods of my life. Today I am a teacher and researcher at Stanford University and University of San Francisco. I lecture an author course called ‘From Slavery to Obama’ in both of them. However, if we talk about the main calling, I would like to be known and remembered as a person who spread Martin Luther King’s humanist ideas for his whole life. King was an outstanding person who visited us in the 20th century, and with whom I was honored and blessed to work. This unexpected historical role was a great gift to me.”