On Aug. 30, in an exclusive screening of “The Baddest Speechwriter of All,” students and alumni earnestly directed their gaze towards the screens of the Sobrato center as the image of Clarence B. Jones calmly declared, “I’m a bad dude.”
This is Steph Curry’s second time participating in the Silk Speaker Series, with his premier in the series having been in a conversation with Dr. Clarence B. Jones on June 19, 2020.
The 29-minute documentary won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at its premier in the Sundance Film Festival this year and is the driving force behind which Steph Curry, Erick Peyton and Ben Proudfoot were brought to the university under the banner of the Silk Speaker Series. Curry, who is a NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist appeared alongside Proudfoot a two-time Academy Award winning director and Peyton, the CEO and Co-Founder of Unanimous Media.
In approaching the question of why the team chose to tell Jones’ story, Proudfoot said, “You can’t mess up if you give Clarence the floor.” The documentary utilized musical motifs to emphasize the significance of Jones’ musicality as a complement to the lyricism in his speechwriting. Booming jazz scores followed pivotal scenes of Jones’ career, as Jones would himself describe, “When I was writing words, it was like writing lyrical notes.” The lyricism of Jones’ writing harmonized with King’s inspirational delivery to entrance an audience. Considering the implications of the short film and its potential impact on modern activism, Erick Peyton divulges his intentions with storytelling: “You’re always hopeful that it touches somebody.” This sentiment is later echoed by Curry: “You find the audience that is connected and moved by the story.” Curry’s voice echoes in the documentary as he responds to Jones’ anecdotes with familiarity and charisma.
The documentary examines the upwards trajectory of Jones’ career from a Juilliard-educated musician, to a Columbia Law School graduate and eventually Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer. As the documentary spotlights the evolution of Jones’ relationship with King, the audience is made privy to their uniquely inspirational work with Jones declaring, “I’m here! Why? I’m here to tell the story, the honored legacy of Dr. King […] He would say, ‘So now that he’s here, he’s coming after you, and he’s not gonna let you sleep until he puts his foot nonviolently up your a*s.”
As the documentary concluded, Jeff Silk rose to the stage to introduce himself. Trustees Jeff Silk and his wife Naomi Silk pledged a transformational gift to the University of San Francisco which provided the funding to develop the Silk Speaker Series. Jeff Silk then introduced Jennifer Azzi as the moderator for the event.
In opening the event, Azzi explored Curry’s first meeting with Jones, who had always wanted to meet Curry. Jones eventually met Curry at the Golden State Warriors practice facility through a meeting facilitated by Azzi and immediately hit it off. They developed a significant lifelong friendship and connection. He wanted to make sure that Curry would use his platform to speak for those who could not. Curry described, “Basketball is the most serious thing for two hours, then you realize Clarence B. Jones is here […] When I talked to him, there was just a wealth of experience […] He looked me dead in the eye and challenged me on how I was using my platform, and we connected over that because I’m just getting started trying to fill even half of his shoes.”
Basketball was not always an easy path for Curry. Even as early as high school, there were times where he felt like it was all over. At an Amateur Athletic Union(AAU) tournament in Las Vegas, Curry had a lot of pressure to impress the many head coaches of the major colleges who were in attendance at the tournament. He wanted to show them why he deserved to have a spot on their roster. Curry unfortunately did the opposite. He committed an absurd 14 turnovers in the game. After that, he thought that there was no chance he would ever get asked to play college basketball. However, one coach gave him a chance—Bob McKillop. The Davidson head coach wasn’t only looking at what Curry was capable of on the court or the mistakes he made; McKillop said that his hustle, grit and body language showed that Curry was able to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Curry ended up getting a scholarship at Davidson and played three years of basketball there, leading them to the March Madness tournament twice in his collegiate career.
As Azzi asked the concluding question, what advice did they have for USF students, each speaker shared a brief sentiment to the awaiting audience. Peyton started, “I think you gotta learn how to work. If you’re truly going after something, you have to teach yourself how to grind.” Proudfoot succinctly asserted, “Figure out what you want, put it in your mouth and say it.” Curry concluded, “If you want to be successful, your life has to look different from the person to the left and right of you.”
The exclusive screening of the short documentary “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” to be released on Netflix later this year, was the endeavor of three passionate storytellers who would recognize the magnanimity of one man’s contributions to a legendary and ongoing movement for social justice.
