Exclusive: MLK’s Nearest & Dearest Talk Life With Civil Rights Icon Ahead Of New HBO Documentary Premiere

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 26: Civil Rights activist Xernona Clayton attends screening of HBO’s “King in the Wilderness” on March 26, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

“King In The Wilderness” Premiers April 2 On HBO

The woman who drove the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the airport for his last march in Memphis and helped plan his last birthday celebration spoke about life with the civil rights icon.

Xernona Clayton was the confidant of both Dr. King and wife Coretta Scott King, and worked within the civil rights movement for years. She said contrary to his serious image, Dr. King was a jokester behind the scenes.

“He was the funniest man alive,” Clayton told BOSSIP ahead of the premiere of “King In The Wilderness,” where 19 of King’s close friends talk about his triumphs and struggles during the last three years of his life. “When you saw him, he was on stage, in the church, making serious speeches about serious issues. But he loved nothing better than to gather his friends and he was such a good storyteller…And he loved to laugh, so we enjoyed being around him.”

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 26: (L-R) Author/executive producer Trey Ellis, producer George Kunhardt, panel moderator/journalist Charles Blow, producer Teddy Kunhardt, Civil Rights activist Xernona Clayton, author/executive producer Taylor Branch, SVP HBO Documentary Films Jackie Glover and director Peter Kunhardt attend screening of HBO’s “King in the Wilderness” on March 26, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Clayton added: “I told him once, when you solve all the problems in the world, you won’t have to worry about a job, because you can be a comedian!”

“King In The Wilderness” is an unflinching look at Dr. King the man, his work and his personal life, delving into and his civil rights advocacy in the North, like to create adequate housing for the poor in Chicago, the public backlash against his anti-war stance in Vietnam and King’s philosophical differences between fellow Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader Stokely Carmichael.

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 26: (L-R) Panel moderator/journalist Charles Blow, author/executive producer Trey Ellis, author/executive producer Taylor Branch and Civil Rights activist Xernona Clayton attend screening and panel discussion for HBO’s “King in the Wilderness” on March 26, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Clayton said she hopes “King In The Wilderness” will inspire young people to take on the still ongoing battles against poverty, racism and violence.

“The unfinished work of Martin Luther King is important,” Clayton said. “So why don’t you take a little piece of it? With young people, we saw that last week (with the March For Our Lives). They took the leadership. Each of us can take a portion, because our problems are not solved. Dr. King put a dent in them, but they’re not solved yet.”