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On March 7, 1965, some 600 civil rights activists marched in Selma, Alabama, demanding an end to racial discrimination. The demonstration was led by now-Rep. John Lewis and Hosea Williams, who worked with my father, Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King III
Whether it is a tsunami, or whether it is a hurricane, whether it's an earthquake - when we see these great fatal and natural acts, men and women of every ethnic persuasion come together and they just want to help.
As human beings, we are God's highest creation.
My mom and dad understood that every generation has to earn its freedom over and over again.
Now, Martin Luther King Jr. was a bridge builder, not a wall builder.
In the fifty years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we have made tremendous strides in the fight for equality. We must continue to move forward, not backward.
I think we have got to do a better job explaining to people why their vote does count. I think people feel disconnected from some of their elected officials, as well as the system, because, sometimes, it is very complicated.
In my view, nothing would do more to reduce violence in American cities than genuine full employment - a job at a decent wage for every person who wants to work. Numerous studies have shown that violence increases with unemployment.
And I think that, at some point, I am, as John Lewis and many others, are a bridge-builder. The goal is to bring America together and Americans. We are a great nation. But we must become a greater nation.
But my father also supported human rights, freedom and self-determination for all people, including Latino agricultural workers, Native Americans, and the millions of impoverished white men and women who were treated as second-class citizens.
That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.
What I heard my mom always say was that, while she was never naive, she understood the FBI's intent was, obviously, to break up the family.
Now, that doesn't mean that individuals can't have Confederate flags on their property. They have the right to do that. But again, it represents something that is not unifying.
Had dad chosen to use violence he would have been immediately annihilated.
You know, when you've idolized something, you put it on a shelf, lift it up, and when King Day comes out, you pull it out and show it. Or when Black History Month comes out, you show it, or when April 4th or other times, you show it. But, you see, Dad wouldn't want us to idolize.
I think it's always in order to engage in constructive dialogue, even when you may not get any results.
I'm sure my father would applaud the explosion of youth activism that has emerged in response to the gun violence pandemic. I'm certain my parents would agree it is gratifying to see young people leading social change projects in a multiracial coalition.
But there is just no way to adequately prepare a 10-year old for the sudden loss of a much-loved father. It was a confusing time, with many painful moments.
I'm totally against the death penalty - which, if anyone has a right to support, I do - because I do not see it as a deterrent to crime.
I had the opportunity with my brother to travel with my father probably seven or eight times. The last experience was in 1967, just a few months before he was killed.
I don't know that endorsement's important, so I'm not necessarily here to endorse, but what I will say is, if I was a Canadian resident, I would support my friend and his party, Justin Trudeau.
I just think we have to create the climate so that people will come out on election day and vote.
If we can live a day in peace, then why couldn't we live a week in peace? If we can master a week, why not a month? If we can master a month in peace, why not a year in peace? And if we can master a year, then certainly we can master a lifetime of peace as God's highest creation.
There is more racial integration in American life and many more people of color serving as elected officials and corporate leaders than there were during my father's time. But there is also reason for concern about new forms of racial oppression, such as measures to make it harder to vote, racial profiling and crushing public worker unions.
One of the things my dad and mom worked on throughout their lives was the eradication of poverty.
Individuals cannot be free if there are impediments to reaching their full potential as human beings.
My dad was not a tall man, but he always made me feel like he was a giant. I was never afraid when I was with him.
My dad was focused on trying to get a guaranteed annual income for all people in 1968, shortly before he was killed. He did not get to realize that dream.
I believe we should appoint a cabinet-level position that will be solely and fully devoted to ending poverty as we know it in America.
I would assume my father would support anything that lifted up and created opportunities for 'the least of these.'
As our nation has become more divided, there is a resonance for a message to bring people together.
It's going to take all of us rolling up our sleeves to make America the America that it must become.
When you've been raised in a home of love, and for your loved one to be taken away from you through violence, a lot of emotions go through your mind.
The seminal right of the modern civil rights movement was the right to vote. My father fought so diligently for it. Certainly Congressman John Lewis and many others, Hosea Williams, fought for it as well.
And what my father represented, my mother represented through her life, what I hope that I'm always trying to do is always bring people together.
My father's approach to the most brutal and unambiguous social injustices during the civil rights struggle was rooted in nonviolence as a morally and tactically correct response.
According to who brings an issue to the table, people will get up and support it. It shouldn't be based on that. It should be based on whether the kids are performing or not.
Reforms are needed to stem the tide of outsourcing good jobs to other nations and to educate and train American workers to meet the challenges of the 21st-century world economy.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an impassioned advocate of economic justice as well as social justice.
Dad had a way of disarming people because he never really directly attacked them. He might attack a principle, but he never attacked the individual.
Because we always are feeling for justice for all that the reality is, unfortunately, the justice system is skewed, and often people of color do not receive appropriate justice in this country.
No one can tell any nation what it should want. The nation should determine what they want and how to make their nation become as best as it can become - all of us want our nations to be the best of what they can become, for our children.
When my father articulated his vision for the future, he expressed his wish that one day his children would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This dream was not just about me and my siblings, but about our children and their children.
My father's leadership was about more than civil rights. He was deeply concerned with human rights and world peace, and he said so on numerous occasions. He was a civil rights leader, true. But he was increasingly focused on human rights and a global concern and peace as an imperative.
Our challenge is to mobilize a new coalition of conscience to restore the Voting Rights Act, strengthen voting rights and broaden voter access in the legislatures of the 50 states.
In terms of election issues, the urgent challenges we face include securing reforms to de-escalate the nuclear arms race, end voter suppression, improve health care for all Americans and alleviate the climate crisis.
Anyway, in 1966, Daddy had started to attack Lyndon Johnson on the war in Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson was a good man. Even though he was a Southern conservative, Lyndon Johnson passed more civil-rights legislation than any other president in history.
There are people of conscience all over the world, famous leaders, as well as unsung heroes and 'sheroes', who are carrying forward the nonviolent movement for freedom and human rights.
I think the best of us comes when we are working together collectively. And it doesn't mean that we can't disagree. We've got to learn, as Dad taught us, to disagree without being disagreeable.
My father would be very concerned about the environment. He'd be disappointed that we have hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of people who are living out on the streets in the wealthiest nation on the planet. He'd be greatly disappointed because he would know that we can, and we must, do better.
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