‘We were taught values’: Civil rights activist shares life lessons on 92nd birthday

TAMPA, Fla. - A civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King chose to spend her 92nd birthday in Tampa. 

Every year, Dr. Xernona Clayton travels to a city to celebrate her birthday, delivering food and presents to a selected family. 

"I came three years ago and fell in love with people who wanted me back again and again and again," she said. 

Dr. Clayton was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Her parents were administrators of Indian affairs for the city. 

"My father was a minister, and my mother was part American and part Indian, what they called Native-American and my home life was just perfect if I could call it that. We were taught values," she stated. 

Those values led her to graduate from Tennessee State Agricultural and Industrial College in Nashville with a degree in music. She went to the University of Chicago for her graduate studies. 

Dr. Xernona Clayton was Dr. Martin Luther King's assistant for nine years.

"And at that point, I got involved in civil rights. The struggle to be equal, you know, being Black in America, you're free, but you're not equal. And so I was fighting for freedom and equality," she explained. 

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She remembered a time when she and some friends tried to eat at a restaurant and the owner threatened their lives. 

"l take this knife and cut all your heads off. Scared us to death," Dr. Clayton said. 

Dr. Xernona Clayton joined the civil rights movement after she and some friends were threatened by a restaurant owner. 

The encounter led her to join the civil rights movement. She was Dr. Martin Luther King's assistant for nine years. 

"Dr. King flattered me by saying Xemona can do everything. And so I tell people I did everything that I was supposed to be hired to be one thing, but I ended up doing everything because you want to be creative," she shared. 

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That is a life lesson that she learned from her mom. 

Dr. Xernona Clayton gives a select family presents to celebrate her 92nd birthday. 

"My mother said all the time, there's a price you pay for the life you lead. If you robbed the bank, expect to go to jail. You kill somebody, go to prison. Live a good life, you'll be happy and so will the people around you," she said. 

That’s a lesson that she is passing on too others. Dr. Clayton, lives in Atlanta, and was Corporate Vice President for Urban Affairs for Turner Broadcasting. 

Her footprints were also added to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.