It was a warm day on May 9, 1969, and Mister Rogers came on the air.
He decided it would be nice to put his feet into a kiddie pool to cool off.
It just so happens that Officer Clemmons stops by Mister Rogers neighborhood.
Mister Rogers invites him to cool off too.
There seems nothing strange to cool off in a pool on a hot day except that Clemmons is Black, and in 1969, in many areas, Whites and Blacks did not swim in the same pool.
The scene was so powerful, it was recreated again in 1993 and Mister Rogers asks, “Doesn’t that feel good?”
Officer Clemmons responds, “It does feel good.”
Clemmons was not just implying the water feels good on his feet, but that it feels good to be able to share a pool with a White man.
It feels good to have equal rights.
Mister Rogers continues the conversation, “I’ve been thinking of different ways of saying ‘I love you.’”
Mister Rogers asks Officer Clemmons how he says I love you.
“Singing is one of my ways of saying ‘I love you.’”
Officer Clemmons sings a beautiful song called "Many Ways to Say I Love You."
At one point, Mister Rogers chimes in, with a duet, and the two appear almost in love, again a mixing of Black and White.
Officer Clemmons reflects, “I like being a human being right here and now.”
Soon it’s time for Officer Clemmons to return to duty and Mister Rogers shares his towel and helps Clemmons dry off.
It seems normal today, but it’s hard not to imagine that this action astounded some: a White man sharing his towel with a Black man.
Fred Rogers had a picture framed of a quote from his favorite children’s book, “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery that said, “L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux” or “What’s essential is invisible to the eye.”
This was at the core of Mister Rogers message. What is essential is on the inside and has nothing to do with Black or White.
The show continues with Rogers saying, “There’s a special feeling about this.” He relates wading in a pool to an anecdote about playing in a pool as a boy with his grandpa. But what is really special about this moment is a Black man and White man being in a pool together as friends.
Mister Rogers asks Officer Clemmons, “You must have memories like that too.”
“I sure do.” Of course, he does because Black families are not different than White families. All people are people. That’s what Mister Rogers was telling the world.
But there was more in this scene that was also invisible to the eye. It wasn’t visible to anyone except to Mister Rogers.
Officer Clemmons was gay.
Clemmons would later say, "I am a Black gay man and Fred washed my feet.” While Rogers accepted Clemmons, he asked Clemmons not to openly disclose his sexual orientation at that time for the sake of the show.
At the time perhaps what was more important for the country was that, “I was the first Black American to have a reoccurring role on all of children’s television.”
Not everyone can be Mister Rogers, but everyone has a podium no matter how small or large your neighborhood is whether it’s with your family, your friends, your team at work, or your neighborhood.
Living in a neighborhood requires being a citizen.
Being a citizen sometimes entails moving outside of your swim lane to stand up for what is right.
We all can and hopefully learned a lot from Mr. Rogers
What a very special story. Thanks 🙏 for sharing