Friends and Family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Continue to Advocate for Change
Santa Clara Law School hosts Dr. Clarence B. Jones for an event about justice and reconciliation amid nationwide services honoring MLK
In remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Clarence B. Jones – his close friend and advisor – spoke to Santa Clara students and staff about his experiences and memories with the late activist in Charney Hall.
“The Fierce Urgency of Now” event was brought to Santa Clara on behalf of the Black Law Student Association, the Center for Social Justice Coalition and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion as the country celebrated the achievements of King on Jan. 16.
Dr. Clarence Jones spoke to law students about how racial justice is still not fully realized.
“Not understanding the historical reality and the current reality of the application of law is what is slowing down racial justice today,” said Dr. Jones.
He believes that the law cannot be understood in a vacuum, and that the legal system is a reflection of the people in power. Without understanding this, change cannot occur – neither from society nor the government.
At a commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, The Rev. Bernice King said leaders – especially politicians – too often cheapen her father's legacy into a comfortable and convenient King offering easy platitudes.
The service, annually organized by and held at Ebenezer, headlined observances of the 38th federal King holiday. King, gunned down in Memphis in 1968 as he advocated for better pay and working conditions for the city's sanitation workers, would have celebrated his 94th birthday Sunday.
Her voice rising and falling in cadences similar to her father's, Bernice King bemoaned institutional and individual racism, economic and health care inequities, police violence, a militarized international order, hardline immigration structures and the climate crisis.
With his experience of being discharged from the military and being titled a national security risk, Dr. Jones agreed that these breakthroughs come when they’re fought for. After a long struggle, he had finally received an honorable discharge by taking the issue up to court in what he described as an exercise in the early understanding of power.
“You don’t get what you ask for, you get what you demand,” said Dr. Jones.
To keep King’s legacy alive and strong, Dr. Jones explained that people must keep the government in check. With the rise of misinformation and political polarization, he believes that it is integral to understand that one cannot change history and that history continues to influence laws today.
“Have respect and disrespect for the law,” he concluded.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.