On 3 August 2006, the Institute was pleased to have attorney and Wall Street investment banker Clarence B. Jones speak with the summer fellows. Jones, who is beginning a one year residency at the Institute to complete his book, Thank You Martin, A Tribute to Winter Soldiers: Stories From the Front, discussed his career and experiences in the movement alongside King.

Jones told interns of his first meeting with Dr. King where he had rebuffed -- for the second time -- King’s request for Jones to join his legal team.  The next day Jones attended Dr. King’s sermon in Los Angeles, California.  Entitled the “Role and Responsibility of the Negro Professional,” the sermon singled out Jones and aspects of his difficult childhood. King climaxed the sermon with Langston Hughes’ “Mother to Son,” bringing Jones to tears and finally convincing him to go to Montgomery where he supervised the legal work of other lawyers.

Jones explained his initial skepticism of nonviolence and eventual understanding that King’s commitment to nonviolence was his way of bearing the cross and honoring Jesus Christ.  During his talk, Jones praised King as the first person in the Western world to ever bring about a revolution peacefully and as the man who enabled America to undergo her most fundamental social and political transformation.

In discussing the Albany Movement and the Birmingham Campaign, Jones declared King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” as the best of King’s intellect.  Before concluding the seminar, Jones commended the Institute for seeking to give direction and coherence to help others fully appreciate King.  He lauded Institute director Clayborne Carson as an “unsung hero.”

The Institute would like to thank Mr. Jones for sharing his experiences and time.

Listen to Clarence Jones.