# @oberlincollege on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DGI8D3mRRqp
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/26767278-oberlincollege-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/373f578716.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-02-16T16:01:51.000+00:00

## Caption

For our next Black History Month feature, we want to shine a light on Francois S. Clemmons ’67. Clemmons is multi-talented: a Grammy-winning opera singer, founder of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, and an actor best known for portraying Officer Clemmons on the beloved TV show "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood." Within the last few years, he also published a book, "Officer Clemmons: A Memoir."

"Officer Clemmons" chronicles his lifelong search for a sense of belonging. “It’s a story of a young musician,” he explains, and of a place “where a young Black boy can go to learn to be gay,” which Clemmons felt was missing in his formative years. He details his connection with his grandfather, and how this inspired his love of music and singing. 

During graduate school at Carnegie Mellon, while singing in the Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Clemmons met Fred Rogers. Rogers was immediately impressed by Clemmons’ powerful voice and essentially recruited him for the role of Officer Clemmons on his show. While he hesitated at first, he accepted the role and ultimately felt proud that his role on the show communicated a “powerful anti-racist message” to viewers. And, in the end, his friendship and mentorship with Rogers proved to be the great spiritual salvation of Clemmons’ life.

Read more about Clemmons in this Winter 2020 Oberlin Alumni Magazine story by Kate Mooney ’08 at the link in our bio!

📸: @humanartist, John Beale/courtesy of Focus Features

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| oberlincollege | @oberlincollege | https://gondola.cc/oberlincollege | University |
| Lucy Curtis | @1ucyyy | https://gondola.cc/1ucyyy | Copywriter |
| Lucy Curtis | @1ucyyy | https://gondola.cc/1ucyyy | Social Media Coordinator |

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