The man behind, the man behind the dream Clarence Benjamin entered a confusing Jones is arguably one of Ilabyrinth of hallways. The hall split by Henrik.S. Berner
the most important people to live in this country. He was one of the co-�architects� of modern America, working with Martin Luther King, and for his cause.
and turned, and forked and twisted, I started to wonder if i would ever make it to Dr.Jones apartment. Thankfully, after being lost for a while, a voice called hello, and I managed to find my way to the apartment.
On the inside every thing was overwhelmingly white, all the big surfaces where the same shade of white. the only things that were a different color was the black sofa, and a black shelf behind it. I was greeted by his wife Lin, who showed me into the living room. A beautiful buddha’s head sat on the coffee table, and the simple tranquil decorating instantly calmed my nerves. Dr. Jones is one of those people who has a very tight schedule, But when he sits down to talk, it is as if he has all the time in the world. I asked him about how he met Dr. King. So he sat back, and started telling me the story.
Dr. Jones was a promising young attorney before he met Dr.King. He was in Los Angeles building a career for himself in the field of copyright law and intellectual property. He was also a Professional Clarinetist and had been deeply interested in music his whole life. One day he was contacted by a friend of his, a judge out of New York. The judge was working on a case of tax fraud for Dr.King, and he wanted Dr.Jones to help as a law clerk to do the legal research; the only catch was that Dr.Jones would have to travel to Montgomery, Alabama. Dr.Jones had his own career to care for, so he declined the offer. The following day he received another call from the judge. He told Dr.Jones that Dr.King was headed over
“You know Mr. Jones, we have lots of white lawyers, particularly from the North-East, who help us with our movement. But what we need, Mr. Jones, is young Negro lawyers like you, to help support and help with our movement.” Dr. King
to Los Angeles to speak at a convention, and that he would like to meet with Dr.Jones to talk. They met together at Dr.Jones´ home and talked for a while. Dr. Jones offered to help by doing the research in LA and then sending what he found over to Alabama, but Dr.King did not want that:
Dr. Jones, however, still decided that he had enough on his own plate, and respectfully declined. Dr. King invited Dr. Jones to a sermon he was holding later that day and left. Dr. Jones’ wife was not happy with him; she could not understand why he wouldn’t help out. Dr.
Later that day, Dr. Jones went to hear Dr. King speak at a church, and he was mesmerized. Dr. King spoke about Dr. Jones in his sermon. He didn’t mention Dr. Jones’ name, but told his life story, about a young man who had grown up in a catholic boarding school for poor children, and who had managed to make a career for himself, about how his parents were domestic workers, and how his mom died at a young age.
Jones answered:
“Just because some negro preacher got his hand caught in the cookie jar stealing, that’s not my problem, why should I change my life?” Dr. Jones
“I had never heard anybody with a human voice, walking on two legs, with two arms and a head, I had never heard any human being speak like I heard Dr. King speak on that Sunday church. It blew me away, it was mesmerizing.”
Dr.Jones
After the speech Dr. Jones approached Dr. King who was signing autographs.
“I never said a word until I got to him and I put my left hand on his right shoulder, and I put my right hand in his, and I said “Dr. King, when do you want me to go to Montgomery Alabama?””
Dr. Jones ended up not only being his attorney, but also one of his close friends, and his draft speechwriter. He told me a story about how Dr. King was approached by a man who wanted him to hire one of his professional speechwriters. He had heard about Dr. Jones, and knew that he was not a professional speechwriter. Dr. King had acknowledged the fact that Dr. Jones was not a professional speechwriter, but he had said that Dr. Jones had one quality that he doubted that he would find in that many people: Trust. He trusted Mr. Jones.
the world being a better place for everybody.” Elaine. Berman
Elaine Berman laughs because every time her children are visiting, she will barely see them, because they’re too busy talking to
“Clarence is very good with young people, and he is genuinely interested in you.” Elaine. Berman
Dr. Jones.
For this reason, Dr. Jones now dedicates most of his time to speak to young people, and educate them on a wide range of subjects. He is so valued by Stanford that every
time he teaches a class, they send a car to pick him up. He is regularly invited to tour the world to share his knowledge, and speak at massive international conventions and meetings. His wife Lin, acts as his secretary, manager and travel partner. She believes that what made Dr. Jones a great draft speechwriter was not only his view of the subject, but that he used his knowledge of music to create an audible flow of words that would captivate, not only by context but also by rhythm. His way of seeing music in communication, sparks Dr. Jones’ ability to connect with all generations. I felt that connection when i met Dr. Jones. His parting gift to me:
A friend of Dr. Jones, Elaine Berman, talked to me about how she had met him by complete coincidence. They had been at the movies and Elaine’s husband asked Dr. Jones about his Stanford sweater. Clarence had answered that he indeed was a teacher there, and they ended up in a very interesting conversation about nothing, and everything. They have been friends since. Elaine said
“He feels a universal understanding is what’s important, he doesn’t have a limitation; he’s interested in
Dear Henrik, you are part of the successing worldwide generation that Dr King worked so hard, and died for. Keep his dream alive.