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Conversations with Black America: Nation Honors Memory of Martin Luther King
Aired April 04, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he was not 40-years-old.
REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: I have a dream.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: He may have been the most hated man on earth when he was killed. He was real loved the next day, April the 5th.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Forty years later, a conversation with black America you've likely never heard.
ANDREW YOUNG, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: You can never get beyond that moment.
LEMON: Dr. Martin Luther King's closest friends on Memphis, the moment, the movement. How far has America come? Have we yet to realize the dream?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar.
Today in the CNN NEWSROOM, conversations with black America on the 40th anniversary of the murder of Dr. -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: It was a shock, because when I ran up I saw him just laying there, perfectly still. And the bullet clipped the tip of his chin and cut his neck in half. And it was a very clean wound. You could see his spinal cord. You could see the vertebrae. And there was a pool of blood, but it -- it was just over instantaneously. And I don't think that he felt any pain, and I don't think he even heard a shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Dr. King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, where he'd gone there to support sanitation workers. Today it's the center of our day-long special coverage. Our Don Lemon is at Memphis City Hall, where a rally begins next hour, ahead of a recommitment march to the Lorraine Motel.
KEILAR: And that is where we find CNN's Soledad O'Brien, at the site of Dr. King's assassination, now home to the National Civil Rights Museum. She's joined there by CNN contributor and radio talk show host Roland Martin, who with some of his colleagues, will lead our unprecedented conversations with black America.
And we're also doing something unique today, something we haven't done before here on CNN. We're going to be listening in live to a couple of African-American radio talk shows. We want to know what black America is saying on this day.
You're looking right now at Bev Johnson. She is the self- proclaimed queen of talk radio, broadcasting live on WDIA there in Memphis. Now WDIA was the first radio station in the country programmed entirely by African-Americans for African-Americans. And today she's broadcasting live from the National Civil Rights Museum.
If you want to talk to Bev, just go ahead and call 901-535-WDIA. That is 901-535-9342.
HOLMES: And right now, city hall in Memphis is getting ready to host a who's who of today's civil rights movement. A number of high- profiled speakers will gather to talk about how King's message resonates today, 40 years after his death. They will then lead a recommitment march to the Lorraine Motel.
So we want to head on out to our partner, CNN's Don Lemon. He's at the city hall in Memphis.
Good afternoon to you there.
LEMON: Hey, hello to you, T.J.
And you guys mentioned that we're going to be doing this conversation with black America, talking to prominent radio hosts here in America.
But we'll also going to be talking to the everyday man and woman on the streets who are showing up here, are going to show up here. Thousands of them have already shown up in Memphis.
But we're on the stage where this recommitment ceremony is going to begin in just a short while. A couple of people have started to show up, a lot of them still, though, over at the Lorraine Motel for other events. You can see them preparing the stage, the sound system behind me, for a number of dignitaries who are going to show up here and talk and then walk from here. That street you see there, there are street cars that go down there, Main Street. And they're going to walk all the way to the Lorraine Motel from here. And then to the National Civil Rights Museum.
We're going to be in that crowd, talking to those people, having a real conversation, not only with radio hosts, but with everyday people here in black America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MANUEL, FORMER SANITATION WORKER: That's the worst moment I had on the job.
LEMON (voice-over): James Manuel has come a long way from the 1960s when he first became a sanitation worker in segregated Memphis, Tennessee.
MANUEL: You worked outside in 100 degrees. Now you had something to dream.
LEMON (on camera): Hot, smelly, garbage is leaking on you?
MANUEL: Right. It was tough. That's all I can say.
LEMON (voice-over): And it was dangerous. Back then, Manuel says people didn't put their garbage out on the curb. He and his fellow workers, all black, had to retrieve it from back yards. He said the company didn't provide gloves or uniforms.
(on camera) How much money were you making?
MANUEL: Well, when I started I think I was making $1.33 an hour.
LEMON: A dollar thirty-three cents an hour?
MANUEL: Right.
LEMON: To pick up garbage.
MANUEL: Right.
LEMON: And half of it's leaking on you?
MANUEL: Right.
LEMON (voice-over): The Walking Buzzards, as they were called, had to carry the leaking, 60-gallon filthy tub on their shoulders on heads. And then they had to ride in the back of the truck with the garbage to the landfill.
MANUEL: We would stand on top of the garbage to the landfill, whatever.
LEMON (on camera): Really? People did that?
MANUEL: Yes.
LEMON: Sit on top of the garbage?
MANUEL: Yes.
LEMON (voice-over): That's how two sanitation workers died February of 1968. To escaping a driving rain storm, they huddled in the back with the putrefying garbage, like the workers in this picture. They were accidentally crushed by a malfunctioning trash compressor. After that, sanitation workers went on strike. And Dr. King came to Memphis.
It was here he gave his last speech, on the evening before an assassin's bullet took his life on the balcony of the now-infamous Lorraine Motel. James Manuel had attended the rally.
MANUEL: I feel bad about this. The whole of Memphis (ph) feels bad about this.
LEMON: Now 40 years later, Manuel's son, James Jr., also works for the sanitation department.
JAMES MANUEL JR., SON: I admired and I respect. I mean, my father took care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. He taught me right from wrong and made -- that's one of the goals, I wanted to follow in his footsteps, become his own supervisor.
LEMON: Today, the working conditions, while not perfect, are better. And this time, young and old, black and white, are working together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And people like the Manuels, who worked for the sanitation department, that's why Dr. King originally came to Memphis. He came to Memphis to talk to people like that. And also to make sure that things were OK for them, because they had really terrible working conditions.
Forty years later, as we said in our story, things are not perfect, but they are better. And now we want to go over to the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King lost his life on that balcony, Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. And my colleague, Soledad O'Brien, joins me from there for her part of our conversation with black America -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, Don, thank you.
In fact, that's where that march where you are will be ending up, right here at the Lorraine Motel, which is now the National Civil Rights Museum. The hotel had -- and motel, they're connected -- has a really remarkable history. A lot of the umbrellas, the sea of umbrellas that were behind me earlier have kind of dissipated, have gone inside. This driving rain continues.
But the Lorraine Motel, back in the 1920s, was a white-only motel. By the end of World War II some famous jazz greats, blacks, were allowed to stay at the motel: Count Basie, Cab Callaway stayed here, and later, Aretha Franklin was here.
By the time Dr. King came here in 1968, it had an important place among black people in Memphis. And so it was an important choice for Dr. King to stay here.
You talked about the sanitation workers' strike, which is why Dr. King was here. By the time the late '70s rolled around, this motel had fallen into disrepair and chaos. I mean, there were hookers staying here, the only way to make money for the guy who continued to own the motel. And in 1982 it went into foreclosure. And the folks, citizens got together to purchase the property.
The man who owned the motel had always created a shrine to Dr. King. He owned it when he was here. And his own wife, in fact, died of a hemorrhage when she got the news. She was working the switchboard, and when she heard that Dr. King had been killed, she had a hemorrhage and she also died. He created a shrine not just to Dr. King but to his wife, as well.
So the history here played such an important role in the city of Memphis.
Today we're going to be talking to two of Dr. King's children, Bernice and Martin III. We talked to them about present-day black America and how they feel about where things are headed, in addition to what we heard from Senator Clinton just a few moments ago about creating a czar who would be responsible for ending poverty in this country.
Every so often you can see security check the top of the building here. And they're getting set up for Hillary Clinton to come by. She's going to be laying a wreath. You heard her speech earlier. She won't be speaking here. Probably a smart choice, considering just how bad the weather is.
We'll be obviously following that, as well. And we'll be updating you in our conversation with black America. Where do we stand today with all the sacrifices? But not just Dr. King but some of the civil rights legends who are here? Where are we right now? That's what we're looking at later today.
I'll send it right back to Brianna in the studio and T.J.
KEILAR: Soledad, thanks.
And as Soledad said, 40 years later the voices of black America are being heard. What is important to them? The economy? Health care? Public policy? Equal justice? Our live coverage continues from Memphis. We'll hear from the sanitation workers who were actually involved in the 1968 strike that brought Dr. King to Memphis.
HOLMES: Also, as we mentioned, doing something we've never done here before, listening in live to black radio to get a reading on the biggest issues facing today's generation.
And if you want to call in to "The Bev Johnson Show" in Memphis and participate, here is the number for you: 901-535-WDIA. That's 901-535-9342.
KEILAR: And we're also tracking the severe weather moving into Memphis, as well as other parts of the U.S.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: I said, "Doc" -- I said, "Doctor" -- it hit him right there. And the bullet knocked him against the door. And there he was on the balcony.
I heard someone saying, "Get low, get low." And all of us had to hit the ground. Whoever it was did the shooting could have scattered -- could have scattered the shots across the courtyard.
I start running toward the -- the steps and up the steps, because he was on the second level, on the balcony level. And within a minute or so, Doc Abernathy (ph) said, "Get back, get back. This is my dearest friend." I remember that very distinctly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And again, we are keeping an eye on things happening today, really around the country, commemorations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Here is -- this is happening at the King Center here in Atlanta. His sister there, speaking at a service there. We're watching services happening here.
We also have our people on the ground in Memphis, Tennessee. They are at the Lorraine Motel, of course, where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. We're having our conversations with black America, listening in, as we're seeing here -- live picture out of Memphis, Tennessee, the Lorraine Motel, where events are happening there.
And also, we're listening into black radio, seeing what's -- what's on the minds of this next generation, some 40 years later after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And we're letting people know, you can dial in. There we go. We're listening into black radio. That show, "The Bev Johnson Show." You just saw a couple of the personalities there. But you can call in yourself and join in on that conversation. That number is up on your screen there: 901-535-WDIA. And join the conversation.
KEILAR: And it is 14 past the hour. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The faltering U.S. economy taking another hit. The Labor Department says employers cut 80,000 jobs last month. That is the third straight monthly decline. The jobless rate climbed to an almost three-year high, 5.1 percent.
And in Western Texas, investigators are interviewing children at a ranch occupied by followers of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. Authorities say they're trying to determine whether any of the children are in danger. Jeffs, as you may recall, was convicted last year in Utah of being an accomplice to rape, and he still faces sex- related charges in Arizona. In South Florida police say they've arrested a 20-year-old man and seized a pile of weapons after the suspect threatened on the Internet to carry out a Virginia-Tech-style massacre. The man is charged with making written threats to kill or do bodily injury. And he is free on bond.
Damaging storms ripped through North Texas early this morning, tearing roofs off of buildings, crushing cars with downed trees. No word right now on serious injuries, though.
The damage is worse in Central Arkansas, where a tornado touched down in the middle of the night. About 47,000 people lost power. One person died in the flash flooding that followed.
And meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking more threatening storms.
Karen, what's ahead for us?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are watching this outbreak of severe weather. The ground zero right now primarily centered on Mississippi and Louisiana, although through the afternoon this is all moving rather rapidly towards the east.
Here is our tornado watch that is currently in effect until 6 p.m. tonight. And we are watching some of these isolated areas. Some particular super cells that have the potential for tornadic activity, specifically, from right around Yazoo City towards Vicksburg.
Now, just to get your bearings straight, here is the Mississippi River. Where you see these purple shaded areas, that's where we've seen tornado warnings issued.
And just to let you know, right around Vicksburg, they've seen heavy downpours. They're saying lots of trees and power lines down. Also, on this Interstate 20, they're saying that some of the trees have blown onto the interstate about mile marker 2 right around Vicksburg.
Also, severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for a number of areas, as well.
But all these cells we're looking at, all the way down towards Natchez, Mississippi, this is where we're looking at these embedded super cells that later on this afternoon could erupt into super cells. It could produce damaging winds, large hail, the potential for tornadoes.
So we'll be here in the weather center to keep you updated.
KEILAR: And people, obviously, Karen, should keep their radios on, their weather radios, right?
MAGINNIS: Absolutely.
KEILAR: All right. Good for people to know. Karen, thanks very much.
HOLMES: And again, up next here, folks, we are doing something here we have never done before at CNN. We're listening into black radio. What are the hot topics of the hour? The economy, war, and health care, the presidential race?
If you want to join in on that conversation, call into "The Bev Johnson Show" in Memphis and participate. The number: 901-535-WDIA. Again, 901-535-9342. We'll be listening in live in just a few minutes.
KEILAR: And also, we want to hear from you about where you were when Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. You can share your stories. You can read other stories at IReport.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We're taking another live look here, folks, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, of course the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Watching a rainy day there in Memphis. Folks there are gathering for commemorations, and for our conversations we're having with -- with black America.
Our Soledad O'Brien is there as we are listening in to black radio. I believe she's dialed in now and can hear me all right.
Soledad, you with me?
O'BRIEN: ... conversation. And a couple of things that I think folks don't know about WDIA, the role in really saving, literally, this structure. Because you guys ponied up the money first which really went to save the building, save the Lorraine Motel.
BEV JOHNSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: The Lorraine Motel. Yes, it was get...
O'BRIEN: It was going into foreclosure.
JOHNSON: Yes, exactly. And WDIA was instrumental in getting on the air waves, Soledad, and telling the listeners, "We've got to save this place. We cannot let it go down."
O'BRIEN: It's hard to believe that everyone wouldn't think that way. You know, that a building with so much history could have been destroyed. But it had really fallen into disrepair.
JOHNSON: Yes, it had.
O'BRIEN: I mean, prostitutes working out of the building. And there was really no money, and the neighborhood had gone down really fast.
JOHNSON: Exactly. And so again, WDIA stepped in. Well, the listeners stepped in, because they're always here for us. And WDIA got the money to save the Lorraine Motel. So we were able to help save it and still here. And then as we went -- Judge D'Army Bailey had the foresight of, "Well, let's do something positive around the hotel." And here we have the National Civil Rights Museum.
O'BRIEN: Has it surprised you -- I mean, from the other side here, we can folks who are walking by, taking the tour. And I'm amazed. I mean, it is a downpour. That's why I'm wearing my baseball cap, because it is a downpour outside, and you guys are safely ensconced inside. But the number of folks who have been going through, even in inclement weather, does that surprise you at all?
JOHNSON: No, not at all, because people know, as Dr. Harper said earlier, this is sacred ground. And people are going to come here because they feel a spirit. And when you come here you get the spirit. And when you leave here, you should have the spirit to want to do better.
O'BRIEN: What are they saying when they call in? What's the main topic of conversation? Is it going down memory lane, or is it looking forward to black Americas today?
JOHNSON: The conversation with the callers is looking forward, to going ahead that in this day and time we can have a black man who is really, really -- might be the president of the United States. And they're looking forward towards that. So we see an upward movement. Not going back.
O'BRIEN: Onward and upward, right?
JOHNSON: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Thank you for letting us dip onto your conversation.
JOHNSON: You are quite welcome.
O'BRIEN: We really appreciate it. Bev Johnson is staying on the air, extended day for Bev today, and to Bella Smith Arnold (ph) and Dr. Warren Campbell, as well.
JOHNSON: Harper.
O'BRIEN: Harper. As I keep mangling your name, Doctor. I apologize for that.
And thanks to all the folks who have stuck around, as well, and are hanging out with us today.
JOHNSON: We appreciate you hanging out with us.
O'BRIEN: I'm glad it's not raining indoors is all I'll say.
JOHNSON: We have another first for us: the first black-formatted radio station in the country, we've got CNN taping us, too, and Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Well, we're happy to be here. Thank you very much.
With that, we will send it right back to the studio. HOLMES: Yes, back to the studio. And here we are. We see Soledad there enjoying herself there, participating in "The Bev Johnson Show." And again, we're listening in to black radio. And you can join that conversation. We have a number for you here for "The Bev Johnson Show" for you to take a listen and also call in and see what you have to say. Join the conversation: 901-535-WDIA, as you see there on your screen.
We're going to be listening in a little more a little later and throughout the next several hours here in the NEWSROOM. So stick around for that. It's something we are happy to be doing today, something we haven't done before.
And also, stick around for this. Their father being remembered today as an American hero. We're going to be speaking live with the Reverend Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, on this 40th anniversary of their father's assassination.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everybody. You know what? We're here out -- we're staying at city hall, where folks are going to show up for this recommitment ceremony. It's raining here. It's a very bad rainstorm. You've been hearing Karen Maginnis talk about it. But these people are showing up early for this march, which starts in about 30 minutes. And they say they don't care about the rain. They're here because this is important.
Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Memphis, Tennessee.
LEMON: You're from Memphis, Tennessee. All these guys from Memphis. Oklahoma, Oklahoma. I want to talk to this couple.
You're from Ohio, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ohio.
LEMON: Two grandparents here with their granddaughter. Why are you guys out here in the rain?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's an historical march. We want our granddaughter to realize what we went through when we were coming up. You know, we came through the area -- era of King himself. And we actually want her to experience it, you know.
LEMON: Are you learning anything about now, 40 years later? They tell you stories?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's like different times. It's pretty interesting.
LEMON: Yes. What have you learned from all this, 40 years later after Dr. King's death?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That he died, like, he got assassinated for, like, us. Because if he wouldn't have died we would probably still be in a black and white country.
LEMON: It's important to you, and I'm going to call you Grandma.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Juanita. It's Juanita.
LEMON: Just Juanita. It's important for you to come all the was here Ohio?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's very important. Like my husband said, we came through the era. We were too young to actually participate. So now we have our opportunity and we wanted to share that with our granddaughter.
LEMON: So it doesn't matter the weather, even if it was freezing, below zero?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we would be here. This is important.
LEMON: I want to ask you something real quick and then I'm going to move on, but do you remember the moment when Dr. King died where you were, what you were experiencing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do. Actually I was playing baseball in high school, and we got the news he died, had been shot. And really, the baseball team, we were contending for the city's championship at that time, and it was just like the whole world had just dropped.
LEMON: I've got to ask you this, because I want to move it forward a little bit. You know, 40 years later we're talking about economic empowerment, we're talking about political empowerment, we're talking about employment, things that affect people now these days. Do you think the dream has been fulfilled in that way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think is being fulfilled. I don't think it has been fulfilled yet. You know, we've come a long ways, but there is still yet a long way to go. You know, we made some few steps but we need to advance a little bit further.
LEMON: Thank you guys very much for standing out here and talking to us, and all these guys. There are people here all the way, Detroit, Michigan, all over, and they're starting to line up here. Los Angeles, California, Chicago, all over, and we're going to be talking to them throughout the day here. Conversation with black America, not only radio hosts, but people, everyday people.
I want to toss to my colleague, Roland Martin, who's at the Civil Rights Museum, and he's going to continue our conversation with black America. Take it away, Roland.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Don, thanks a lot. Hey, folks, I apologize for my voice. I want to introduce you to our panel right now. We have Wendi Thomas, she's a columnist with the Memphis newspaper here, the "Memphis Commercial Appeal," also the Reverend Andrew Clark, radio talk show host and also a police sergeant for the West Memphis Police Department, and also Reverend Rebekah Jordan. She's the founder of the Mid-South Interfaith Network.
And I want to get right to something. The last year of Dr. King's life, he focused on economics and the war. We got a poll out from CNN, Research Opinion poll, the top two issues in America right now are the economy and the Iraq war. How do we move this forward? How do we connect Dr. King's last day of his life with the issues of today? Rebecca, let's start with you.
REV. REBEKAH JORDAN, MID-SOUTH INTER-FAITH NETWORK: Well, (INAUDIBLE) what Dr. King talked a lot about in the last few years of his life were a living wage for everyone who worked. One of the things he said to the Memphis sanitation workers, is it's a shame for people to be working full-time hours getting part-time wages, and that is still the situation of hundreds of thousands of workers here in the United States. We need a minimum wage that is a living wage.
MARTIN: Reverend Clark, were are the only person among this group here who was actually alive when Dr. King was killed. You were 18 years old at the time.
ANDREW CLARK SR., NEWSRADIO 600WREC: Yes, I was.
MARTIN: But let's talk about what she just said. How do we then deal with it? How do we talk about people being able to raise their families? We have an economy losing 80,000 jobs, people losing their homes, so how do we advance the conversation beyond remembering his life 40 years ago?
CLARK: A lot has to do with the fact we have to have a government responsive to the needs of the people. We also have to rely on the private sector to create jobs. And we do not need our taxes raised. We need an economy that is responsive, that balanced, that can employ people. Most your jobs come from the private sector; they don't come from the government. The government doesn't create anything.
In regards to the war, it's tragic. We made a mistake, but we've got to see it through. I think Dr. King would disapprove of it. I mean, that's quite obvious based on the way he felt. But it's a reality that there is evil in this world and you've got to fight it, and I think if he knew that, that he would at least acknowledge it.
MARTIN: Now, Wendy, you are a product of this particular city, went to its schools. But we also have to recognize that education and economic empowerment go hand in hand. Give a sense what the situation is here in Memphis. And how are they trying to fix a broken problem when it comes to educating poor kids, African-Americans, whites, Hispanics and others.
WENDI THOMAS, "THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL": I am a proud product of the Memphis city schools, and I think the education I got there prepared me well for the job that I have today as a columnist at "The Commercial Appeal." I think that schools can only do so much. And to expect in seven hours of the day for them to solve all the social problems on the community faces is kind of unfair.
We need, I think, more emphasis on what parents are teaching at home parents supporting the teachers and the administration when their children are acting up. They're not all angels. We do have challenges in Memphis city schools, same kind of challenges you would find in any urban school district where you have a lot of poverty, and we are working to fix those.
MARTIN: Well, I will say this here before we're about to go to Soledad O'Brien, I think one of the fundamental issues that we also must confront is that we cannot continue to live in the past, talk about marches, talk about what life was like 40 years ago. We have to apply Dr. King's Focus, his works to what is happening today. I think that is one of the issues with this march today is called a "recommitment march." The question is, are we going to recommitment ourselves to actually driving forth the agenda? I thanks all of you. Certainly appreciate your comments far.
And we want to right now go to Soledad O'Brien continuing our conversation with black America.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Roland, just as you were talking to me I lost my audio, which means we were about to start an interview with Bernice King, and unfortunately without being able to hear her, that's not going to work.
So what we're going to do, Roland, is if you don't mind, I'm going to hand it right back to you while we try to work out that problem, because we've got Bernice King, who's standing by for us in Atlanta, and we've lots of questions for her on this very important day, OK. So check in with us in one more minute, Roland. I'm going to hand it right back to you.
HOLMES: All right, guys. I'm going to jump in here. Soledad, Roland, Don, all you guys, we appreciate you out there. T.J. Holmes back here at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Yes, we will continue our conversation in just a moment. And yes, Bernice King is here in studio with us. Soledad just talking about that conversation she's going to have. We're going to have that earpiece for her fixed, get that audio worked out, and we will be right back, here with our special coverage of having a conversation with black America.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can be slow as well to give greatness its due, a mistake I myself made long ago when I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King. I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong and eventually realized that in time to give full support, full support for a state holiday in my home state of Arizona.
I'd remind you we can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But as far as we've come, we know the journey is far from over. Some days when you open up the newspaper and you read the headlines, it feels like we've tumbled right back down that mountain top, doesn't it? Some days, it's amazing how deep the valley can be.
At times like those, I think of what Dr. King said in his last speech. How he acknowledged we are living in a time of turmoil and upheaval. But then admonished us to remember that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, you see those two presidential candidates there. Where is Barack Obama? He's the only presidential hopeful that is not in Memphis today. He did, however, devote his speech this morning to the memory of Dr. King. Obama chose Indiana where he and Hillary Clinton are neck-and-neck in a primary race to be decided May 6th.
He's the Illinois senator -- or here now is the Illinois senator at a rally in Ft. Wayne.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today represents a tragic anniversary for our country. Through his faith, his courage and his wisdom, Dr. Martin Luther King moved an entire nation. He preached the gospel of brotherhood, of equality and justice. That's the cause for which he lived and for which he died 40 years ago today.
And so before we begin, I ask you to join me in a moment of silence in memory of this extraordinary American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Obama reminded reporters on his campaign plane that he spoke at King's church in Atlanta to mark his birthday back in January and that it's important to spread King's message to Indiana, North Dakota where he'll be speaking later today.
Well, tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN, the straight talk continues on race and politics. Our "Conversations with Black America" picks up with a special edition of the CNN "ELECTION CENTER" with Campbell Brown and the top names in black radio. Don't want to miss that conversation. Happens tonight 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.
Now, we want to hand it back over to Soledad O'Brien in Memphis.
O'BRIEN: Hi, we are at the Lorraine Motel in where the downpour continues. But it really hasn't stopped thousands of folks for coming out. Many people are actually in the middle of taking part in a march. You saw Don Lemon earlier, that's where they're going to start. They're going to end up here back in front of the motel. And there have been celebrations throughout the day in spite of what's been really pretty bad weather.
We want to now bring into our conversation Bernice King. She was just five-years-old when her father was assassinated. She's in Atlanta.
Bernice, it's nice to talk to you. I'm sorry we don't get to see each other in person, but we certainly appreciate your time.
REV. BERNICE KING, DR. KING'S DAUGHTER: Thank you. It's good to be here.
O'BRIEN: Tell me a little bit about what you remember. You were only five-years-old when your father was killed. What did you understand -- you know, five is right on that cusp of being able to understand a lot and really being a baby, not understanding anything. What did you understand?
KING: Yes and especially for me, it was seven days later from my birthday that my father was assassinated. So, I was in the very early stages of age five. But the day after he was assassinated, his body was flown back to Atlanta. And my mother was trying to prepare me for seeing my father in a different form. And she said now, when you see your father, he's going to be lying in a casket. And he won't be able to talk to you.
And I don't recall her ever really sharing with me the totality of him being killed and things of that nature. And it could have happened in terms of me. I know she did with my siblings. But I think for me, she just wanted me to be ready to see him in another form and try her best to prepare me for it.
And the strangest thing happened, I raised the question with her. I said well, how is he going to eat? Because I remember so often being at the dinner table with my father and family and seeing him often times reaching this little glass bowl to pick up these little long-stemmed onions with the white bulb at the end and chewing on them like they were carrot sticks or celery sticks.
And so, I was concerned about him eating. She said essentially God was going to take care of that. And she didn't know what else to say. She was struggling to figure out how do you really tell a five- year-old, so she just kind of hugged me and said, mommy loves you.
O'BRIEN: Of course, he wasn't just a father. He was an icon. I think it was JFK Jr. who once said that everybody knew his father better than he did.
KING: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I mean, was it difficult for you that -- you know, America kind of co-opted (ph) your father. We all believe that, in some ways, we have ownership of him, too. But he was your father. Is that hard?
KING: Yes, it's a constant struggle and a constant battle because you know, you spent five years essentially having to share him with the world. And now that he's gone, you continue to have to share him. And it's -- I don't have a problem with sharing him and I don't have any problem with other people attaching to his legacy and continuing it.
I think my constant struggle is just the protocol of it all. Oftentimes as the children of Dr. King, we tend to be overlooked sometimes and pushed back sometimes. And you know, we've dealt with that throughout our entire life, but it doesn't make it any easier even today as a 45-year-old.
But you know, we are transcending that and trying to keep our minds focused on the greater picture and understanding that he was a man sent by God to this nation to try to call us back to our foundation.
O'BRIEN: Bernice King with some wonderful memories. Bernice, thanks again for talking with us. We really appreciate it. And again, I'm sorry that we don't get to chat in person. It's always nice to get to see you in person.
KING: Thank you. I'll see you soon in Memphis. I'm on my way there.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Yes, all right. We'll see you then.
KING: All right.
We're going to throw it now back to Bev Johnson who's doing her live radio show indoors, not very far from where I am -- Bev.
REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: ...is that it's a day that we don't take off to go shopping, but that we really memorialize the importance of Martin Luther King to the world, not to the United States or to Memphis. This man has gone down in international history and as the person that influenced me in terms of political ideology more than any other person.
I kept thinking when he was assassinated, what can I do? What's the greatest honor we can bestow upon a person in the Congress? And I said a birthday. And people said, now, you know they aren't going to let a black man have a legal holiday of his birthday. And especially not Martin Luther King, who challenged his government every time he felt they needed to be straightened out. And so, we began a long struggle, 15 years of people saying, no, no, no.
But you know, the support for King's birthday started from the bottom up. It started in school systems and cities and then finally, state legislators got into it. And finally, people started saying, uh-oh, this isn't going away. Because they told me after a few years, Martin would be forgotten. Everybody is feeling bad about it. But in a few years, that would be all over. But it didn't get over.
And then, the unions picked it up. Thanks to the unions here and around the country, they started giving a day off. It was a collective bargaining, paid holiday in the contracts. And pretty soon -- and then, we got one of those Republican presidents to say that if we pass it in the House and the Senate, he would sign it into law.
And guess what? He didn't think we would ever get it. We could get it out of the House because the Black Caucus was there. And that was even before Steve Cohen tried to join the Black Caucus.
JOHNSON: And how is he doing up there in Washington?
CONYERS: Oh, this guy is tough. I mean, he's taking care of business and he's doing a great job. And it's funny, because we look about the same age, but he's the most junior Congressman on the committee, on the House Judiciary Committee and I'm the chairman and I'm the most senior. And between him and me, we get everything taken care of. It's working.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would vote for?
CONYERS: Steve Cohen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right there.
CONYERS: Yes, understood. But -- because he's done the job. He's taking care of business. And you know, that's in the spirit of what Dr. King was talking about, isn't it?
JOHNSON: Yes, it is.
CONYERS: You know, you support the best person for the job. And he's proven that he can do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if Martin were alive today, I think he would make you an honorary Negro.
CONYERS: Well, well, now, wait a minute. We can make him an honorary member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, that's cool.
CONYERS: Yes, OK. But it's so good to be on this program. You know, people listen to you all over the place.
JOHNSON: You know what, I have folks calling me from Detroit and ...
CONYERS: Yes.
JOHNSON: ...Ann Arbor, yes.
CONYERS: I'm not surprised.
JOHNSON: Well, I want to talk to you some time, too.
CONYERS: May I be put into your very busy schedule?
JOHNSON: Yes, sir, you can.
CONYERS: All right, count on me. And here's my -- here's Jonathan Godfrey (ph), my pressman from Washington, D.C.
JOHNSON: Hey, Jonathan.
CONYERS: And we got 47 ...
KEILAR: You are watching the "Bev Johnson Show" broadcasting live from Memphis. Bev talking there with John Conyers, a very prominent politician in Washington, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
And we're going to continue our "Conversation with Black America" in just a moment. But first, some stories that we're working on here in the NEWSROOM at 50 past the hour.
Still no official returns from Zimbabwe's presidential election last Saturday. But President Robert Mugabe's party says Mugabe is willing to face his opponent in a run-off. Opponents claim Mugabe has held up the election results in a bid to retain power.
And extensive damage in central Arkansas after storms that included at least one tornado. At least a dozen mobile homes were destroyed, thousands of utility customers lost power.
President Bush has arrived in Croatia following the end of the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania. Now this weekend, he'll head to Russia to meet with President Putin. Putin is leaving office next month.
Remembering the life and times of America's civil rights icon. It's part of our coverage on this day honoring Martin Luther King Jr. We'll hear from a man who was very close to King, his personal lawyer Clarence Jones.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we are standing by here. We are -- we've got a weather situation going on that we're keeping an eye on. Our Karen Maginnis is standing by in the severe weather center. And we are talking severe weather, watches and warnings. Serious stuff going on.
MAGINNIS: T.J., we've got violent weather which really has erupted in the last 30 minutes or so. But really, for about two or three hours, we've watched these storms really start to kick up.
Here is our tornado watch that goes until 6:00 this evening. We're going to zoom in across Jackson, Mississippi. That's pretty much in the south central or southwestern central portion of Mississippi. Where you see these purple-shaded areas, that's where we have tornado warnings.
I just want to tell you that in Rankin County, that's in the vicinity of Jackson, there is a possible tornado that touched down at the Dogwood Festival Mall. That's in the town of Flowood in Rankin County, Mississippi. Jackson -- you can see there are two distinct lines of storms. One has a hook echo. And this is also produced a tornado near Pearl and Richland. Damage reported there.
We're going to keep you updated throughout the afternoon. T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Karen, we appreciate you. Thank you so much. A dangerous, serious (ph) situation going on there. Thank you so much.
KEILAR: And part of our "Conversation Today with Black America, we are following a radio show coming out of Memphis. This is the "Bev Johnson Show." She is the self-proclaimed queen of talk radio. And Hillary Clinton has just shown up at the "Bev Johnson Show" and she has just made some brief comments.
We're going to be turning those around for you in just a moment so that you can listen in and hear what she said. Let's listen now, folks.
We're going to get those comments for you as soon as we can since we don't have audio of what she's saying right now. But again, Hillary Clinton at the "Bev Johnson Show in Memphis.
We'll be right back with that after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Some CNN i-Reporters have vivid memories of where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news from Memphis.
Geraldine Fisher of New Bern, North Carolina says, "I was seven- years-old. The teachers made the heartbreaking announcement that Dr. Martin Luther King has been killed. That was the first time that I experienced the nation weeping simultaneously! The whole nation, or maybe my world, felt like hope died.
HOLMES: Also, Michael Johnson of Baltimore says, "I was 11- years-old turning 12 in August 1968 -- I went out into the street and I saw men and women, grown people stopping what was going on in their lives and crying. I had seen King five years earlier, maybe six, as he stopped in Baltimore to campaign for Kennedy. But this was a death that took the sound out of the air. You could not hear cars or the sounds of the city -- it was as if the air stopped."
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