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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's Friday, which is when we hear from StoryCorps. And this morning, we rebroadcast some gentle voices from 2016. Francois Clemmons played Officer Clemmons on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" for 25 years. He was the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a kids TV series. Clemmons recalled joining the cast in 1968 after Fred Rogers heard him sing in church.
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FRANCOIS CLEMMONS: Fred came to me and said, I have this idea. You could be a police officer. That kind of stopped me in my tracks. I did not have a positive opinion of police officers. Policemen were siccing dogs and water hoses on people. And I really had a hard time putting myself in that role. So I was not excited about being Officer Clemmons at all. But there was one particular scene that Fred and I did, where he had his feet resting in this plastic pool on a hot day.
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CLEMMONS: (As Officer Clemmons) Oh, there's Officer Clemmons. Hi, Officer Clemmons. Come in.
FRED ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) Hi, Mister Rogers. How are you?
CLEMMONS: And he invited me to come over and to rest my feet in the water with him.
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ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) Would you like to join me?
CLEMMONS: (As Officer Clemmons) OK, sure.
The icon Fred Rogers not only was showing my brown skin in the tub with his white skin as two friends, but as I was getting out of that tub, he was helping me dry my feet.
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ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) There, that one's dry.
CLEMMONS: (As Officer Clemmons) Thank you.
And so that scene touched me in a way that I was not prepared.
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ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) Sometimes just a minute like this will really make a difference.
CLEMMONS: I think he was making a very strong statement. That was his way. I still was not convinced that Officer Clemmons could have a positive influence in the neighborhood and in the real-world neighborhood. But I think I was proven wrong.
KARL LINDHOLM: You were on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" for a long time.
CLEMMONS: Yeah. I discovered a friend for life. I'll never forget, one day I was watching him film a session. And you know how at the end of the program he takes his sneakers off, he hangs up his sweater, and he says, you make every day a special day just by being you, and I like you just the way you are. I was looking at him when he was saying that, and he walks over to where I was standing. And I said, Fred, were you talking to me? And he said, yes, I have been talking to you for years, but you heard me today. It was like telling me I'm OK as a human being. That was one of the most meaningful experiences I'd ever had.
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ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) I'm so proud of you, Francois.
CLEMMONS: (As Officer Clemmons) Oh, thank you, Fred.
ROGERS: (As Mister Rogers) Do you have time to give a song to my friend and me?
CLEMMONS: (As Officer Clemmons) I sure do.
(As Officer Clemmons, singing) There are many ways to say I love you. There are many ways to say I care about you.
INSKEEP: All right. Francois Clemmons with Karl Lindholm in 2016. Their interview is archived at the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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