When New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told "I Have a Dream" speechwriter Dr. Clarence B. Jones that he would be the face of Kraft's Foundation To Combat Antisemitism Super Bowl ad campaign, Jones began to cry, in a video released on February 2.
In the video, Kraft tells Jones "We're gonna run your ad during the Super Bowl."
"Ah, you know what, you know how to make a 93-year-old man cry," Jones says as his voice cracks up.
"Martin would have loved you so much," Jones tells Kraft barely able to contain his emotions.
Who is Dr. Clarence B. Jones?
Dr. Clarence B. Jones, 93, is a veteran civil rights and anti-racism campaigner who worked as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s draft speechwriter from 1960 until the latter's assassination in 1968.
Dr. Jones would continue to maintain a large public profile being involved in many public campaigns from arts to sports, helping to negotiate the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974 between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Congo.
He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Spill the Honey Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing Black- Jewish relations.
Robert Kraft is the owner of the New England Patriots NFL team, he created his Foundation To Combat Antisemitism in 2022 to counter antisemitism after antisemitic comments made by several American celebrities including Kanye West and Kyrie Irving. They ran an ad in last year's Super Bowl called "Stand Up to Jewish Hate."
Kraft has long been a supporter of anti-racist causes, his late wife Myra was present at Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, and he told Jewish Insider, "As a young Jewish couple in 1963, the Holocaust was very much still in our hearts, having lost family members in the horrific atrocities that occurred only 20 years before in the ‘40s."
Although not present physically Kraft watched the speech live on television saying about it, "The clarity, power and cadence of Dr. King’s words and his delivery was like nothing I had ever heard before. His speech truly moved me and it moved the nation."
Kraft, touching on the importance of anti-racism, said "With this ad, we hope to continue to spread Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of unity and equality at a time in which the country needs it most and our goal is to reach a wide audience of people and inspire all Americans to stand up together, arm in arm, and fight this horrific rising hate."
"I know I can speak for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when I say without a doubt that the Civil Rights movement (including the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Acts) would not have occurred without the unwavering and largely unsung efforts of the Jewish people," said Dr. Clarence B. Jones.
"With hate on the rise, it is as important as ever that all of us stand together and speak out. Silence is not an option. I’m glad that I have lived long enough to partner with Robert Kraft and FCAS to continue to spread the message to the widest possible audience – the Super Bowl."