Jones downplays mistake in plaque at Lauderhill's King ceremony

LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA - Actor James Earl Jones said on Saturday that the mistake made by a Texas-based company on a plaque that erroneously honored Martin Luther King Jr.&#39;s assassin was a common one. <br> <br> Jones said that people should forget about the uproar caused by the plaque that was meant for him, but which read, ``Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive.&#39;&#39; Ray fatally shot King in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968. <br> <br> ``It is a mistake that is made all the time,&#39;&#39; Jones told a gathering at about 250 people at this Fort Lauderdale suburb&#39;s ceremony honoring King. ``There&#39;s no point in getting too sensitive about it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Jones said he has been introduced as James Earl Ray before, and compared the much-publicized error to the 2000 election debacle in Florida. <br> <br> ``I thought you had enough controversy with the last presidential election down here,&#39;&#39; he boomed in his distinctive deep voice. ``But anything that&#39;s as small as what happened recently can draw all you back.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Instead of the plaque, event organizers gave Jones a colorful Ashanti stool similar to ones traditionally used as a throne in the African tribe. <br> <br> Earlier Saturday, Jones was the keynote speaker at a ``Keeping The Dream Alive&#39;&#39; celebration honoring King at the Lauderhill Boys and Girls club. <br> <br> Children from the Boys and Girls Clubs in Broward Country made up most of the 300 people in the audience. <br> <br> ``Everybody in this room is somebody,&#39;&#39; said Jones, who spoke about 15 minutes and then fielded about 10 questions from children. ``Everybody counts. You have a lot to offer.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He spoke at a podium adorned with a picture of King. The room was filled with balloons and hand-drawn messages on the wall. <br> <br> ``I felt (Dr. King) had awakened in the nation, if not the whole world, a conscience,&#39;&#39; said Jones, who never met King and admits he was not active in the 1960&#39;s civil rights movement. <br> <br> City Commissioner Margaret Bates, chairwoman of the city&#39;s Martin Luther King Jr. Day task force, said that the plaque has picked up a permanent ``stigma&#39;&#39; from the mistake and the ensuing national news coverage. <br> <br> ``We want the plaque to go its way, and we will go our way,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> Georgetown, Texas-based Merit Industries, the plaque&#39;s maker, has accepted responsibility for the mistake. Merit officials said it happened when an employee was preparing Lauderhill&#39;s plaque at about the same time as one for Ray Johnson. <br> <br> ``He was taken from us by one of those James Earl boys,&#39;&#39; said Jones, his only reference to King&#39;s assassin.