One clip aired in 1969 and the other in 1993. "Fred came to me and said, 'I have this idea: You could be a police officer,' " recalls Clemmons, speaking with his friend Karl Lindholm during a visit with StoryCorps. Now, he realizes how much of a positive influence the scene did have. François Scarborough Clemmons (born April 23, 1945 in Birmingham) is an opera singer, playwright, and lecturer best known for his appearances as Officer Clemmons on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. Then there are those who see the need and respond. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” —FRED ROGERS”, “Like a shattered dam, it snapped, and I loosed a flood of grateful tears. "I grew up in the ghetto. During Clemmons' time on the show, he wasn't simply the friendly neighborhood police officer. Rogers soaks his feet in a pool outside his porch and "Officer" Clemmons makes an unexpected visit. I consider those people my heroes." “My being on the program was a statement for Fred,” says François Clemmons, whose Officer Clemmons was one of the first black characters on children’s TV. Maurice Clemmons was shot and killed by a police officer on Dec. 1 after a two-day manhunt. Actor Francois Clemmons was initially reluctant to take the role. In the neighborhood itself, Clemmons ran a singing and dance studio located in the building diagonally across from Mr. Rogers' house. Welcome back. François Clemmons recently talked about those scenes and how important they were and still are. His is not just a gentle voice; for many people, it's a very familiar one, too. Francois Clemmons (right) and his friend Karl Lindholm, on their recent visit with StoryCorps. Both scenes touch on the topic of racial equality as Mister Rogers soaks his feet in a wading pool and invites Officer Clemmons to join. There’s so much work to be done. Two similar clips are being shared across social media, both featuring the recurring character of Officer Clemmons. François Scarborough Clemmons is an American singer, actor, playwright and university lecturer. "But you heard me today. Giveaway dates from Apr 18-May 04, 2020. He said, “They didn’t want black people to come and swim in their swimming pools, and Fred said, ‘That is absolutely ridiculous,'” At the time in 1969, Clemmons didn’t feel it was enough. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Lady Elaine is preparing to do a soap opera she ... See full summary ». These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy for future generations. Rogers, for his part, wasn't simply Clemmons' iconic co-star. Officer Clemmons announces he has accepted a new job with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. As Clemmons said to the Pittsburgh City Paper in 2018, "I carried the hope inside of me that, one day, the world would change. Today, we're enjoying some of the most famous Mister Rogers quotes. Perhaps most surprising to me was his suggestion, offered in the late 1960s, that Francois Clemmons, who played Officer Clemmons in the Neighborhood, keep his gay sexuality in the closet. Dr. François S. Clemmons' ambition and artistry, pain and struggle informed the person behind his character, Officer Clemmons. Policemen were siccing police dogs and water hoses on people," he says. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org. 1663: Love. It was from an episode that aired in 1969, in which Rogers had been resting his feet in a plastic pool on a hot day. And, in the decades he spent as part of the show, there's one scene in particular that Clemmons remembers with great emotion. Be the first to learn about new releases! He told the parole board he was "not ready" the first time he was released, but that he "[didn't] want to die in prison" and would "try to do the right thing". The role of Officer Clemmons took another symbolic turn in 1969, just after the first anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., when Mister Rogers invited Clemmons to join him in soaking his feet in a wading pool. Remember Officer Clemmons, the policeman from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood?" He is perhaps best known for his appearances as "Officer Clemmons" on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1968 to 1993. Afraid to be alone with them,” Clemmons told me over the phone ahead of the release of Morgan Neville’s new documentary on Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” “The idea that he wanted me to become one of them, one of the enemy, was a tremendous shock to me. They are often found in the least likely places.”, “What do you do when good people are silent in the face of such brazen racism?”, “Everybody knew something, and nobody said anything.”, “Mentorship was for life in my humble opinion,”. Officer Clemmons and Mister Rogers, reprising their 1969 foot bath more than two decades later, during their final scene together in 1993. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” —FRED ROGERS'. He says he'll never forget the day Rogers wrapped up the program, as he always did, by hanging up his sweater and saying, "You make every day a special day just by being you, and I like you just the way you are." Goodreads helps you follow your favorite authors. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as "Officer Clemmons" on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1968 to 1993.--Wikipedia François Scarborough Clemmons is an American singer, actor, playwright and university lecturer. For 25 years, Clemmons performed the role of Officer Clemmons, a friendly neighborhood policeman, in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" on the children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. One of my favorites is, "We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. But in this life, they were definitely not needed. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as "Officer Clemmons" on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1968 to 1993.--Wikipedia When he created the role of Officer Clemmons on the award-winning television series Mister Rogers' … On this week’s episode of What’s Next, Growing Bolder’s Bill Shafer revisits an a important conversation about race with Dr. Francois Clemmons, who portrayed Officer Clemmons on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and GB friends and contributors Secily Wilson and Dr. James A. Smith Jr. It’s a powerful, unfiltered and unscripted hour of real talk. He was also Clemmons' "friend for life.". Directed by David F. Chen. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. StoryCorps For 25 years, Francois Clemmons played a role on the beloved children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. (c) The Fred Rogers Company Officer Clemmons: A Memoir. Officer Clemmons, a friendly police officer who also ran a neighborhood singing and dance studio, is one of the most beloved and remembered characters on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. That was his way. Francois Clemmons (right) and his friend Karl Lindholm, on their recent visit with StoryCorps. “Franc, you have talents and gifts that set you apart and above the crowd,” Clemmons recalls Rogers telling him, according to People. Dr. Dr. Clemmons played the role for 25 years, where he made history as the first African American with a recurring role on a children’s television show. Clemmons asked him, "Fred, were you talking to me?" King Friday and Queen Sara announce their secret: they are having a baby. Twenty-four years later, in the pair's last episode together per NPR, the show broadcast a similar moment.Rogers tells Clemmons that he's soaking his feet because they're tired … It's easy to say ‘It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' "But you heard me today." I couldn’t afford to become lackadaisical.”, “I always knew that the parts I had put aside weren’t dead. With Fred Rogers, Bill Barker, François Scarborough Clemmons, Joe Negri. "I think he was making a very strong statement. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’. "The icon Fred Rogers not only was showing my brown skin in the tub with his white skin as two friends, but as I was getting out of that tub, he was helping me dry my feet.". "That was one of the most meaningful experiences I'd ever had.". ", "It was like telling me I'm OK as a human being," Clemmons says. ", "Yes, I have been talking to you for years," Rogers said, as Clemmons recalls. “some white people would never fully commit themselves to helping black people, while others would.”, “Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. "And I really had a hard time putting myself in that role. Those tears were strengthening and healing to me.”, “Many times, I’m not sure we’re necessarily meant to be happy in this life. There are times I feel a deep sense of contentment, and I have known satisfaction from a job well done. "Yes, I have been talking to you for years," Rogers said, as Clemmons recalls. Produced for Morning Edition by Jasmyn Belcher Morris. I still was not convinced that Officer Clemmons could have a positive influence in the neighborhood and in the real-world neighborhood, but I think I was proven wrong," he says. Clemmons joined the cast of the show in 1968, becoming the first African-American to have a recurring role on a kids TV series. François Scarborough Clemmons (born April 23, 1945) is an American singer, actor, playwright and university lecturer. Officer Clemmons and Mister Rogers, reprising their 1969 foot bath more than two decades later, during their final scene together in 1993. With Fred Rogers, Bill Barker, François Scarborough Clemmons, James Hassett. Clemmons moved to Washington in 2004 while still on parole, which was approved by Arkansas authorities. hide caption. "He invited me to come over and to rest my feet in the water with him," Clemmons recalls. Directed by David F. Chen. I exiled the most passionate, the most loving, and the most sensitive parts of myself.”, “My message is simply one of inclusiveness and love. Quotes from Officer Clemmons “some white people would never fully commit themselves to helping black people, while others would.” — 0 likes “Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. While people of color were being told to leave "white" swimming pools, Rogers snubbed his nose at the notion of segregation or inequality. Clemmons was granted parole on the robbery charges in 2004. 20 free copies available. 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