Xernona Clayton is a civil rights leader, broadcasting pioneer, and the creator of the Trumpet Awards. She also helped to establish the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. The close friend and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. has always poured into the community and helped to amplify Black voices.
Clayton’s activism, accomplishments and life are the the subject of a new documentary, “Xernona Clayton: Life in Black and White.”
The film, produced and directed by Nancy Saslow, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning director and producer, and her Mishpookah Entertainment Group, will premiere on Bounce TV on June 19.
How do you feel about your life and the impact you’ve had?
I’m feeling good because here I am, and I guess I have to admit that I’m 93 years old. I’ve been living for a long time, but it doesn’t matter how long you live, Dr. King says it’s how well you lived. I take the retrospective view all the time of my life and I’ve learned that it feels good to wake up in the morning and then consider now that I’m facing a good day. It gives me an opportunity to do something decent, something wonderful, something beneficial to my life and somebody else’s. To me, it makes me feel really good that I’m able to do something to help somebody else.
How has your life’s work impacted you?
First, I feel unhappy when I see people mistreat people. That can take on many different directions but the antithesis of that is that it feels so wonderful when something good happens, that it balances off. Well, if not balanced, I would choose the latter. You’re doing something good, it makes you feel good, so selfishly you just keep on doing it. If you feel good, helping, you keep helping. You’re benefiting two people, the person who helps and you the helper, so it’s wonderful.
What advice do you have for women?
Well, first I want to say to women, don’t make any apologies for being a woman. None. You can change it, but who wants to do that? Take yourself and thank the good Lord for the blessing of being here, and then use your head after that. Think the good thought, do the good work, and you’ll smile more, you’ll look better, you’ll live longer, and you’ll certainly make your life happier.
What is your biggest accomplishment thus far?
I don’t have one. I accomplished building a school in Africa for children who had no way to learn [and tha ] is a great thrill. To help boys in school, who had no hope for a good ending, I gave them a reason for wanting to go to the end. I think of several things that made me feel really good that I had a part in directing or redirecting somebody’s life for the better … and seeing the outcomes be positive.
“Xernona Clayton: Life in Black and White” will premiere on Bounce TV on June 19, 2023, at 9 p.m. EDT.
