TAMPA, Fla. — Civil rights icon Xernona Clayton celebrated her 95th birthday in Tampa and honored others, including Channel 2’s Community and Public Affairs Director Condace Pressley.
The celebration brought together several hundred of Clayton’s friends from various locations, highlighting her influence and legacy in civil rights and community service.
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Clayton praised Pressley for following in her footsteps by creating opportunities for others, a testament to their shared commitment to community empowerment.
The event featured the unveiling of a new bronze statue of Clayton, created by artist Rodrigo Castro Artilheiro. The statue symbolizes Clayton’s enduring impact and contributions to civil rights.
Over the decades, she has received hundreds of honors and accolades.
Clayton was knee deep in the civil rights movement, organizing events for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later went on to have a successful career as a broadcast journalist.
She was personally invited to come to Atlanta in 1961 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 2023, the City of Atlanta unveiled a statue of her in the Xernona Clayton Plaza on West Peachtree Street. It sits down the street from a hotel she was thrown out of during the civil rights movement.
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