Washington (CNN) -- In the spring of 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most controversial men in America. One night in Chicago's Orchestra Hall after delivering a stirring speech on civil rights and the future of America, he shook hands with a standout 15-year-old with conservative parents, Hillary Rodham. More than 50 years later, the moment still resonates profoundly with Clinton, who has had an illustrious political career and could again seek to make history as the first woman president. "Probably my great privilege as a young woman was going to hear Dr. Martin Luther King speak," Clinton said earlier this year at an event at the University of Miami. "I sat on the edge of my seat as this preacher challenged us to participate in the cause of justice, not to slumber while the world changed around us. And that made such an impression on me."
@highlight
Don Jones landed in conservative Park Ridge, Illinois, in the early 1960s with a purpose
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He wanted to open the eyes of its young people, and young Hillary Rodham responded
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She mentions Martin Luther King Jr. as an inspiration, but Jones impacted her for decades
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He died in 2009, but she remembers his counsel as she contemplates another White House run
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Jr.
But there was another minister, not famous like @placeholder, who also influenced her views on social justice and stoked an intensity for action.
Don Jones
Jones
"@placeholder opened up a new world to me," Clinton said in 2009, the year he died, "and helped guide me on a spiritual, social and political journey of over 40 years."
Hillary Rodham
Hillary Rodham
During the height of the civil rights movement, this kind of trip for kids like @placeholder were unheard of.
Don Jones
Jones
In April 1966, she wrote @placeholder to talk about her new identities at college and in later that year she wrote him to talk about her changing view on politics.
Clinton
Clinton
At a 2007 faith forum put on by CNN when @placeholder was running for president, she mentioned her "old friend" and youth minister in a question about prayer.
Hillary Rodham
Hillary Rodham
"@placeholder is the sum of all of these experiences and all of these philosophical expressions in her youth," he said.