The commercial, spotlighting Clarence B. Jones, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speechwriter, will draw attention to recent issues.
By Ben Cohen, Algemeiner
Viewers tuning into the 58th Super Bowl contest on Sunday night between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will see a 30 second ad condemning antisemitism that features the lawyer who assisted Dr. Martin Luther King in the writing of his legendary “I Have A Dream” speech.
The ad is sponsored by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, founded in 2019 by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Clarence B. Jones, a lawyer who worked closely with Dr. King, warns against rising antisemitism and hatred in America.
A video showing Kraft calling Jones to tell him that the ad will be broadcast was released on Friday.
“I want to refresh your memory because I told you how much I enjoyed our time together and our meeting,” Kraft says at the top of the ad. “Well, let me tell you something. We’re going to run your ad during the Super Bowl.”
In a moving response, a tearful Jones — who met King in 1960, when he helped the civil rights leader win a victory in a tax fraud trial — answers, “You know how to make a 93-year-old man cry.”
He adds: “You have Clarence B. Jones in your life and all of the love and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. He would have loved you.”
A visibly emotional Kraft responds with a Hebrew word, saying “I feel his ruach, his spirit is with us. What we’re going to do after this ad is build bridges to get more love and subdue the hate that’s going on.”
A record 200 million Americans are expected to watch this year’s Super Bowl.
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