“Obama is not the new Martin Luther King”
- On April 4 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was murdered in a motel in Memphis.
- 40 years later, Clarence B. Jones (photo Daniella Zalcman) who was one of his closest advisors, publishes What Would Martin say?, a book in which he uses King’s life and speeches to suggest where the late reverend might stand on numerous current issues.
- Clarence Jones who even co-authored the famous “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, founded several successful financial ventures and was the first African American to become a partner in a Wall Street firm.
New York, March 31 2008. The man with the loop earring and the blue-tinted eyeglasses speaks emphatically. Sitting in his Manhattan office, Clarence Jones, one of Martin Luther King’s closest advisers and his former speechwriter, talks about the late reverend’s legacy in today’s America. In his new book What Would Martin Say?, Clarence Jones uses King’s life and speeches to discuss current issues such as race relations in the United States. When he speaks, Mr Jones waves his hands and does not hesitate to pause to find the right word, the right image. Racism has clearly left some scars on the 77-year old former lawyer. The man who loves Martin Luther King Jr like a brother and defends his role in contemporary American history, sees in Obama a presidential candidate who could improve race relations in America.
In his speeches, Barack Obama seems to have some similarities with Martin Luther King. Do you feel that way?
When Senator Obama gave a speech on March 18 in Philadelphia about race in response to the criticism about his association with his former pastor, reverend Jeremiah Wright, some things he said reminded of what Martin Luther King said. But let us be clear: Barack Obama is a politician giving a speech principally intended at that time to save his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. He wanted to prevent it from being derailed because of his association with reverend Wright (n.d.r.l. who among other things said “God Damn America”). Martin Luther King Jr was not speaking for himself. He was speaking on behalf of America. He was speaking on behalf on the people who believe that all men are created equal. In his so-called “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr was really issuing a moral call to arms to America.
So what was the impact of Obama’s speech on race relations in America?
The great contribution senator Obama made, for which Martin Luther King would be proud of, is that he had the courage to walk into the national living-room of America and actually acknowledge and talk to the 800-pound gorilla of race relations that everybody else was afraid to talk about. Obama says: “Mr Gorilla, I want to build a new house for America in the 21st century. And the new house I am going to build does not have room for you, Mr Gorilla”. It is time to turn the page and to leave behind the legacy of slavery, segregation and institutional racism of the 20th century.
Is Barack Obama a new Martin Luther King Jr for you?
No. I don’t want people to say he is another Martin Luther King Jr. He is not. Martin Luther King Jr was unique. Who was like Beethoven or Einstein? Nobody. Barack Obama is a very able son of Africa and America. Probably one of the few politicians that can be authentically called African-American, because he is both African and American.
Many black people are afraid that if Obama is elected president, he is going to get killed like Martin Luther King. Is it hard to be black in America today?
Let me put it that way. The two most deeply embedded phenomena in the American experience, are 1/ race relations and 2/ violence. This country is a violent country. Even in its urban centers, a little bit of the frontier mentality used to settle the country survives. Violence is deeply embedded within the American psyche. And regrettably, there is a section of the American experience that believes you settle controversial political challenges by violence. I have heard a 65-year old African-American woman say to me she would like to vote for Barack Obama, because it would be like voting for her son. But she is going to vote for Hillary Clinton, because she thinks that if he is elected, he will get killed. That is scary.
What does it tell you about the state of race relations in America?
It tells me that black people feel very vulnerable. A substantial segment of black people has less confidence in America than Obama does have. He really believes that we are at a different turning point. He thinks people are speaking with their votes and are saying that it is time for Dr King’s dream to be realized. Other African-Americans ran for president before, but people did not think for one reason or another that they were deserving their votes or confidence. People believe that Obama gives them an opportunity finally to create an America in Dr King’s words, where a person will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
What did you feel when your heard Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro say Obama was where he was because of the color of his skin?
Mrs Ferraro saw something she did not understand. Obama embodies the classic American success story that everybody can relate to. A young boy raised by his mother and his grandmother after his father deserted him. He went to an American school and graduated at the top of his class. Obama is the classic success story. So the reason people are voting is not the color of his skin but the fact his story resonates with them. His story is a microcosm of the America success story.
Before the South Carolina primary last January, Hillary Clinton said that “Dr King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964”. The former first lady paid a huge price for this comment in the African-American community. Why?
Hillary Clinton failed to understand what African-American people understand instinctively. The only reason why Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, was because of the rising demands of the streets led by Martin Luther King Jr. Hillary Clinton made it seem as if the Voting Rights Act was a unilateral act of goodness on the part of Lyndon Johnson. No, no, no. Martin Luther King Jr made it possible. It was good to have a president who was smart enough to respond to the demands of the people but the demand did not come from Lyndon Johnson, it came from the followers of Martin Luther King. Africans-Americans know it. When they heard that remark, they took it as belittling Dr King’s legacy. Everybody in the African-American knows that Martin Luther King died for his people.
Obama said last month that race is a “a part in our union that we have yet to perfect”. Do you agree with that?
That is correct. It is about perfecting it. How are we perfecting it? We are going to build a new house. That’s the process of perfection.
Do you think his campaign is the answer to race relations in this country?
His campaign is not the answer, it is a process. It provides an opportunity. Why are people voting in droves? They are voting with pride. They are voting for Obama and are saying: “Dr King, we love you”.
What would Martin Luther King say about race relations in the U.S. today?
I think he would say that today regrettably America is still afflicted by a disease of amnesia. This amnesia prevents people from candidly talking about race as Barack Obama has done. It is the amnesia that says there is no gorilla in our living-room.
Is it harder to become president if you are a black man or a woman?
I think it is harder when you are black.
What is your dream for America?
My dream for America is that we will come together as one nation and transcend the legacy of slavery and segregation.
New York / Jean-Cosme Delaloye
Clarence Jones, Joel Engel, What Would Martin Say?, Harper, 256 pages.
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