In this final episode, Ms. Clayton’s infectious sense of humor shines through in her conversation with Michelle Miller. Touching on a handful of topics ranging from their shared histories to present day social injustices to helping stem school drop-outs in California. “Before I leave here, I’m going to make Dr. King’s wish for us—to learn how to live together—come true, says 93-year-old Ms. Clayton, referring to her vision of ‘Xernona’s Village,’ a multiracial, multicultural community where everyone lives in harmony. “If I can change one attitude, then I can change another, and another.” This ethos also applies to The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta. Conceived by Ms. Clayton in 2004, the city landmark made from imprints from the actual shoes of men and women who “walked in the path of ingenuity and helped others,” such as President Johnson and Sidney Poitier. “There’s a treasure in these footprints,” says the woman who also created the “one-minute Black History lesson” so the world would know about the community’s important accomplishments and contributions. “My part is little, but you can add a little to the little and it eventually becomes big.”

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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“I don’t plan for mistakes. I plan for perfection,” says Ms. Clayton, referring to her life and the creation of The Trumpet Awards, the celebrated program she conceived that honors the achievements of Black Americans. From a doctor in Chicago who made it possible to store blood donations to Cedric the Entertainer, the cultural contributions and successes of the community are many. “The trumpet has a glare. It has strength. You hear it loudly. My message is that we are beautiful,” says Ms. Clayton, who celebrated the 28th Annual Bounce Trumpet Awards this year. “We educate black people as much as we educate white people.”

In this penultimate episode, we also hear about Ms. Clayton’s involvement with the National Urban League and her early workplace activism at Marshall Field department store. Her energy and positivity shines through every anecdote and history lesson. For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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In this episode, we meet Xernona Clayton, the Atlanta change-agent connector. At first reluctant, Ms. Clayton shares how she embraced life as a local leader for Civil Rights and the disenfranchised. Hear first-hand how met and socialized with other activists like Andrew Young and John Lewis. She took it upon himself to orchestrate a matchmaking meeting with the learned and enigmatic Lillian, who ultimately became Mrs. John Lewis. Through her humor-inflected stories and conversations, it’s clear that Ms. Clayton has been a lifelong advocate for good. For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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“Ted Turner is probably the smartest person I ever met,” says Xernona Clayton, who was a trusted colleague and lifelong friend of the philanthropist media mogul and founder of TNT, TBS and CNN. From their daily coffee klatches to lively 4am conversations, theirs is a relationship that endured. Ms. Clayton became Ted Turner’s confidante and worked to improve race relations at the station and network. “He liked my sensitivity,” says Ms. Clayton, who ultimately became the voice and conscience of Turner’s company. “We laughed a lot and trusted each other. There was a special mutual respect between us,” says Ms. Clayton. “Ted once said he’d go into a burning building for me, and that’s something I’ll never forget.”

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

:: DROPPING EVERY TUESDAY SUMMER 2023 ::

“I was there to be me. I broke the door wide open,” says Ms. Clayton about her pioneering career as a broadcast journalist. As the first Black member of the Press Club, the first to question the lens of an all-White media, and the first Black person to have their own talk show, her legacy as a journalist showed an industry—and America—that race, visibility, and access matters. Ms. Clayton’s character, authentic voice, and raw talent attracted a diverse audience in Atlanta and other markets. She traveled to many TV stations to share her insights and show other outlets how to open their doors to people of all colors. In one of her most well-known interviews, she even inspired KKK Grand Dragon Calvin E. Craig to change his mind about his view on Blacks, publicly renounce his position and go on to work for Civil Rights.

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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Listen in as Ms. Clayton reveals what it was like on the front lines of the race war in the 1960s; insider information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 's powerful ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’; and behind-the-scenes preparations for the March on Washington and its surprising aftermath. What role did Harry Belafonte and Mahalia Jackson play? And what was different about Dr. King’s departure to Memphis that fateful trip? Ms. Clayton’s observations reveal an uncanny and even more tragic truth about the Civil Rights leader’s death. In this episode, listeners are there with Ms. Clayton and the King family in those dark hours and we hear how President Kennedy secretly helped them and the cause.

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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In our second episode, Xernona Clayton reveals the story behind her nickname “Biggie” and tells stories about her identical twin sister, Xenobia or “Little.” One of the great loves of her life, Xernobia even joined Ms. Clayton and her new husband, editor of Jet magazine, Edward Clayton, on their honeymoon. Life in Los Angeles was glamorous. In white Hollywood, Ms. Clayton made history by fundraising for The Cause and appealing to white movie stars of the day for major donations. Her philanthropic and cause-driven prowess caught the attention of Dr. King and led her to Atlanta. There, she instantly noticed the city’s discrimination against blacks and access to equal medicare care. In 1966, she coordinated the Doctors’ Committee for Implementation and took a stance against the segregation of Atlanta hospitals. A visit to the White House and audience with President Johnson in 1966 resulted in desegregation of hospitals nationwide.

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.

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In our inaugural episode, Xernona Clayton shares personal recollections (and even funny stories) about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., her upbringing sheltered from prejudice in Muskogee, OK—less than 50 miles from Tulsa, where the Greenwood Massacre took place just a decade earlier—and how current events of the time inspired her to move to Atlanta to join Dr. King in the fight for Civil Rights.

For more, don’t miss Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black & White, airing on Brown Sugar, featuring the largest catalog of classic Black cinema. Go to brownsugar.com.