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7 Minutes with Russ Mitchell: Meet Clarence Bozeman, driver of Martin Luther King in the late 1950s

Clarence Bozeman looks back on Dr. King's legacy and his reaction when he heard about the assassination of the civil rights leader 50 years ago.

Wednesday marks 50 years to the day since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis.

As millions take time to reflect upon Dr. King's passing and legacy, we take a moment to look back on an interview that WKYC Channel 3's Russ Mitchell did with Clarence Bozeman in 2015.

As a student at Alabama State University in 1958, Bozeman had a unique opportunity to become Dr. King's personal driver.

"The interview lasted for over 20 minutes," Bozeman recalls. "And I got the job."

Bozeman moved here to Cleveland after graduating from college and finishing his work as Dr. King's driver. He became an educator in the Maple Heights school system.

When asked what his reaction was when he heard that Dr. King had been assassinated on April 4, 1968, Bozeman told Russ, "I was coming from Empire Junior High School and I heard the announcement. I pulled off to the side and started crying. I knew this man...on a personal basis. He has been taken away from society in a needless death. And that hurt me."

Watch 7 Minutes with Russ Mitchell featuring Clarence Bozeman in the player above

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