JCSU News Release

Remembering Dr. King

April 4, 2008 – Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, and one JCSU alumnus spoke to WFAE to remember his struggles and his relationship with Dr. King.

JCSU alumnus Charles Jones was the grandson of slaves who became teachers after emancipation and instilled the importance of education into their whole family.

“The duty we were taught from the first breath was 'to whom much is given, much is required.' You did not negotiate whether you were going to make a difference, it was only a matter of finding that niche,” he said in his radio interview.

He also noted that his time at Johnson C. Smith University helped him to find that niche.

“At Johnson C. Smith we were blessed to be a part of the student government and part of the student body and we were all looking for some way for our generation to impact others,” he said.

Jones said he heard about the lunch counter sit-ins and he organized one for the Queen City at a student council meeting at JCSU. He expected only a few people to show up, but to his surprise, 220 students showed up outside the administration building. The group headed downtown and began to sit at the lunch counters of the lunch shops, first at the Woolworth's and spilling out to all the other shops.

From Charlotte’s lunch counters he continued to work with the civil rights movement and he was one of the Freedom Riders and later became one of Dr. King’s advisors.

Click here to hear Jones’ full interview on WFAE.com