Dr. Clarence B. Jones, speechwriter and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., discusses his historical relationship with former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy following King's assassination in April 1968.
“Now, I, Had been one of the fiercest critics of Robert Kennedy up until that day. And when somebody told me and described to me that he sobbed and put his sob, I said, Clarence, there's something about Robert Kennedy you don't know, and you gotta find out more. About. And that's when I changed my whole opinion about Robert Kennedy.”
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More from Dr. Clarence B. Jones
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Jones: The FBI would have bugged MLK's psychiatric sessions for J. Edgar Hoover
“Whether it's in 30 days, or 60 days, or 90 days, but within 30 to 60 days, every conversation that Martin is having with his psychiatrist is being transcribed. And within 60 days, the transcription of his sessions will be on the desk of J. Edgar Hoover. I'm ab…”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 37:40Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
Opinion
Jones: MLK was brilliant, vulnerable, and sometimes personally irresponsible
“Martin King was, ah, the most brilliant, vulnerable, Sometimes personally irresponsible, brilliant person I'd ever met, you know.”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 30:30Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Jones: I told MLK early on I was not committed to nonviolence
“I let Dr. King know very armed in our relationship I was not nonviolent. No, no, no, no. No, I let him know I'm not nonviolent. I was not committed to nonviolence.”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 31:16Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
AssertionPartly supported
Jones: MLK wrote 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' entirely from memory
“He didn't have any books. He didn't have anything. So I said to him, I said, listen, Martin, you'll get no credit for being able to quote scripture. You've got a PhD in theology. Most of the school is theology. You're supposed to be able to do that. But the du…”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 42:31Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
Insight
Jones: MLK's 'content of character' principle remains the primary template
“I want my four children to be judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin. That, to me, is still, that's the template That still remains a template.”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 1:03:15Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
AssertionSupported
Jones informed MLK of W.E.B. Du Bois's death at the March
“And what I wrote on the program was that we were told that Dr. W. E. Du Bois had died that night before in Ghana at the age of 90 years of age. And so, I wrote to Martin on the program. Just got word from the Dr. Du Bois died in Ghana. Maybe the people at the …”
Dr. Clarence B. JonesJan 31, 2025▶ 27:23Ben Horowitz in Conversation w/ Dr. Clarence B. Jones, MLK's Advisor and Speechwriter
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