Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this timely interview with Life Stories, civil rights leader Bernard Lafayette shares the lessons on the power of nonviolence from his mentor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and reflects on the importance of those teachings in the fight for social justice today. He also recounts key moments from his time working alongside King during the Civil Rights Movement. This conversation offers valuable insights into King’s leadership style and highlights why nonviolence remains a crucial approach in modern activism.
Bernard Lafayette Jr. is an American Civil Rights Activist born July 29, 1940, and raised in Tampa, Florida. He attended college at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee where he helped to lead the sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and restaurants and was involved in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1961 Lafayette participated in the Freedom Rides before moving to Selma to direct the Alabama voter registration project. He was appointed by Dr. King to be the national program administrator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the national coordinator for the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. Lafayette later went on to work with the Chicago Open House Movement and became an ordained Baptist minister. He served as president of the American Baptist Theological Seminary.
From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “King in the Wilderness” that follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the last years of his life: from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, through personal stories of the people who were around him.
Subscribe for access to interviews, series, films, and educational materials that address issues of social justice, history, politics, the arts, and culture by spotlighting relatable human stories of purpose and meaning. Learn about our work and how to support our mission here: lifestories.org/. For extended versions of these interviews and more, visit: youtube.com/@lifestoriesinterviewarchive
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/lifestoriesdotorg
Chapter Markers:
00:00:42 - Meeting Dr. King
00:02:37 - First impression and personal insights
00:05:34 - Working with Dr. King
00:07:10 - Explaining nonviolence
00:09:38 - Nonviolence and activism today
00:12:17 - End of second reconstruction period
00:15:37 - Lifelong commitment to nonviolence
00:17:37 - Poor People’s Campaign
00:20:28 - Dr. King’s mood and work in 1968
00:24:18 - The aftermath of King’s assassination
00:26:32 - Dr. King’s legacy today
Bernard LaFayette, Staff Leader, SCLC
Interviewed By: Trey Ellis
Interview Date: March 29, 2017
© Home Box Office and Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
#BernardLafayette #LifeStories
In this timely interview with Life Stories, civil rights leader Bernard Lafayette shares the lessons on the power of nonviolence from his mentor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and reflects on the importance of those teachings in the fight for social justice today. He also recounts key moments from his time working alongside King during the Civil Rights Movement. This conversation offers valuable insights into King’s leadership style and highlights why nonviolence remains a crucial approach in modern activism.
Bernard Lafayette Jr. is an American Civil Rights Activist born July 29, 1940, and raised in Tampa, Florida. He attended college at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee where he helped to lead the sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and restaurants and was involved in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1961 Lafayette participated in the Freedom Rides before moving to Selma to direct the Alabama voter registration project. He was appointed by Dr. King to be the national program administrator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the national coordinator for the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. Lafayette later went on to work with the Chicago Open House Movement and became an ordained Baptist minister. He served as president of the American Baptist Theological Seminary.
From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “King in the Wilderness” that follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the last years of his life: from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, through personal stories of the people who were around him.
Subscribe for access to interviews, series, films, and educational materials that address issues of social justice, history, politics, the arts, and culture by spotlighting relatable human stories of purpose and meaning. Learn about our work and how to support our mission here: lifestories.org/. For extended versions of these interviews and more, visit: youtube.com/@lifestoriesinterviewarchive
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/lifestoriesdotorg
Chapter Markers:
00:00:42 - Meeting Dr. King
00:02:37 - First impression and personal insights
00:05:34 - Working with Dr. King
00:07:10 - Explaining nonviolence
00:09:38 - Nonviolence and activism today
00:12:17 - End of second reconstruction period
00:15:37 - Lifelong commitment to nonviolence
00:17:37 - Poor People’s Campaign
00:20:28 - Dr. King’s mood and work in 1968
00:24:18 - The aftermath of King’s assassination
00:26:32 - Dr. King’s legacy today
Bernard LaFayette, Staff Leader, SCLC
Interviewed By: Trey Ellis
Interview Date: March 29, 2017
© Home Box Office and Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
#BernardLafayette #LifeStories
