Samuel L. Jackson Says “That’s Not Me”, As He Shuts Down Speculation He’s In A Photo With Dr. King

Samuel L. Jackson Says “That’s Not Me”, As He Shuts Down Speculation He’s In A Photo With Dr. King

With a career spanning over 30 years, it’s safe to say Samuel L. Jackson is considered Hollywood royalty. While the ‘Pulp Fiction’ star has worked alongside some big names, he’s not going to take credit for cameos he did not make. On Sunday (Jan.23) Black activist Zellie Imani posted an archival photo that allegedly  showed a young Samuel Jackson — who was then a student at Morehouse College — observing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a Georgia pool hall in 1966. Jackson caught wind of the image and quickly fact-checked the post. He confirmed that he indeed met Martin Luther King Jr. but confirmed that was not him in the photo. He wrote,

“Okay, I met Dr. King but not at a pool hall. That’s NOT me!!”

Zellie Imani acknowledged his error and replied to Jackson,

“Lol! Whoops!”

The activist seemed thankful that Samuel L. Jackson fact-checked him. Responding to another social media user, he wrote,

“Glad he [Samuel Jackson] was able to chime in and correct me.”

Samuel L. Jackson

While Samuel L. Jackson was not in that pool hall photo, he did have a connection to the King family. As previously reported, the actor was allegedly expelled from historically black college Morehouse in 1969 for reportedly locking board members in a building for two days protesting Morehouse’s curriculum and governance. Of the board members held hostage was Martin Luther King Jr.’s father, Martin Luther King Sr. Jackson and a group of Morehouse activists decided to hold the college’s board of trustees hostage.  The group demanded changes at the school and requested for more Black people to be on the school’s governing board. Although Morehouse agreed to the changes, Jackson was expelled for the protest.

After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, his body was allegedly brought to Atlanta to lay in Spelman College, the historically black college for women adjacent to Morehouse. Samuel L. Jackson attended MLK Jr.’s funeral as an usher, then flew to Memphis to be apart of an equal rights protest.  Samuel L. Jackson once said that he was “angry” but “not shocked” by Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. He added:

“I knew that change was going to take something different – not sit-ins, not peaceful coexistence.” 

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[VIA]