Showing posts with label Martin Luther King III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Luther King III. Show all posts

Saturday, August 26, 2023

March on Washington anniversary comes amid voting rights, affirmative action battles

ABC News spoke with organizers of the 60th Anniverasy of the March on Washington event,Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. They both state that much work still needs to be done to achieve King's dream.

Saturday, January 15, 2022

SPEAKER PELOSI TO JOIN MARTIN LUTHER KING III & FAMILY FOR MLK DAY PRESS CONFERENCE ON VOTING RIGHTS

On Monday,  the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will join Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King and Yolanda Renee King, as well as other elected officials and civil rights leaders at a press conference to discuss the critical need for action on voting rights legislation. The press conference comes as the Senate heads for a vote on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act on Tuesday. Mr. King and others will call on the Senate to do away with the filibuster in order to pass this bill.


The list of speakers includes:


  • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi  
  • Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus 
  • Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), United States Congress
  • Martin Luther King III, Chairman of the Drum Major Institute
  • Arndrea Waters King, President of the Drum Major Institute
  • Yolanda Renee King, Director of Youth Programming for the Drum Major Institute and Granddaughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King
  • Rev. Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network 
  • DaMareo Cooper Co-Chair of the Center for Popular Democracy 
  • Kelly Robinson, Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Vice President of Advocacy and Organizing at Planned Parenthood Federation of America 
  • Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino  
  • Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers 
  • Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association 
  • Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation 
  • LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter
  • Rahna Epting, Executive Director of MoveOn
  • Donald Cravins, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Urban League
  • Rev. Lis Theoharis, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign 
  • Ramón Cruz, President of Sierra Club 
  • Stephanie Young, Executive Director of When We All Vote 
  • Taifa Smith Butler, President of Demos
  • Virginia Kase Solomón, CEO of League of Women Voters 

In the morning before the press conference, Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King and representatives from partner organizations will join the D.C. MLK Holiday Committee for their D.C. Peace Walk: Change Happens with Good Hope and a Dream. The King family will not be formally speaking at the Peace Walk; however, media is invited to capture footage and photos of the family crossing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, and Rev. Al Sharpton will visit Capitol Hill and Meet With Lawmakers

On Monday, September 13th, 2021 Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, and Rev. Al Sharpton will visit Capitol Hill to urge congressional leaders to pass federal voting rights legislation and deliver an open letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell requesting a meeting to discuss the necessity of passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Restoration Act, the For The People Act, and the Washington, D.C. Admission Act.

During the visit, the Kings and Rev. Sharpton will meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. This visit comes as a follow-up to the August 28th March on For Voting Rights, which brought together 250 partners to hold 101 marches and activations nationwide, uniting tens of thousands of people in the fight against voter suppression. #VotingRightsMarch reached over 100 million people online.

At 2:45p.m., following the meeting with Sen. Schumer, the Kings and Rev. Sharpton will hand-deliver a letter to Senate Minority Leader McConnell before holding a press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Martin Luther King III slams Mike Pence's Trump-MLK Comparison

The son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. criticized Vice President Mike Pence for citing the slain civil rights leader to make the case for a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

On April 4th Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s entire family to honor 50th anniversary of his death


ATLANTA- Bells will toll 39 times around the world on April 4, 2018 at 6:01 p.m. CT in remembrance of the life taken 50 years earlier by a gun shot that shook America and the world to the core. At the same time, the surviving children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King will be joined by members of the King family to toll a bell and lay a wreath on the crypts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King on the campus of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center stated, "Today, we remember my father's death, but most importantly, we must remember the purpose and power of his life. Although this day is challenging for our family and for many around the world, I encourage you to hope today and to hope always. As my father expressed in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, I still have 'an audacious faith in the future of mankind.' Our family encourages you to not be angered by my father's death; be bolstered by his teachings and awakened by his work. 50 years later, let us remember him by embracing the truth that Together We Win with Love for Humanity."
At 10:30 a.m. on April 4th, The Center will present its highest award in the Yolanda D. King Theatre of The Performing Arts. This year the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize recipients are: Mr. Benjamin Ferencz for his courageous work as a prosecutor for the Nuremburg, Germany Nazi Leadership trials; and Mr. Bryan Stevenson for his fearless advocacy work in the legal field such as the winning of the historic ruling making mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger unconstitutional and as well, the founding of The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The award ceremony will be followed by a reception for the honorees. A Q&A moderated by Monica Pearson will provide an opportunity for them to dialogue with guests.
Dr. Bernice A. King states, "Our hope and prayer is that all people who want to honor and who love my father will join us in remembering him in any one, or in all of these special moments. Not only will we be honoring him, but we will be committing our energy and efforts to building the Beloved Community. I am certain that he would be profoundly grateful that we are gathered to grow together and help move humanity forward!" The Center will continue commemorative events from April 4th through 9th. For more details of the events and how you can register to participate, please log onto http://www.mlk50forward.org or http://www.thekingcenter.org.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Martin Luther King III meets with Donald Trump to discuss voting rights.

A son of Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King III had a meeting and representatives of his policy making body The Drum major Institute with Donald Trump to discuss voting rights on MLK Day. I actually don't have a problem with King meeting with Trump but I do have a problem with doing it on the King Holiday. This makes it look as if King is being used as prop in Trump's dog and pony show. Listen to Martin Luther King III discuss the meeting below.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Martin Luther King Jr.'s children end Nobel medal dispute

Martin Luther King Jr.'s heirs have agreed to end their legal fight over who owns the slain civil rights leader's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize medal, according to a court document filed on Monday, but did not disclose if the item will be sold.

A trial to settle the years-long dispute over the medal had been set to start in Atlanta on Monday. It would have pitted King's two sons against his surviving daughter, who were at odds over whether to sell the medal.

The three siblings serve as directors of a corporation formed to manage the estate of King, who had no will when he was assassinated in 1968 by a white supremacist in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King III and Dexter King voted in January 2014 to sell the medal and a Bible their father carried during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Bernice King objected to a sale, calling the heirlooms "sacred" to the family.

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ordered the items to be kept in a court-controlled safe deposit box pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

The judge on Monday signed an order in which the parties asked for the suit to be dismissed and agreed the keys to the box should be given to Martin Luther King III, who serves as chairman of the estate board.

Read more: Martin Luther King Jr.'s heirs end Nobel medal dispute

Sunday, February 09, 2014

For sale: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Here's an article that I read in my local Sunday paper ( The Star Ledger ) from a great columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. The article takes a hard unflinching look at the embarrassing situations Martin Luther Kings' children regularly find themselves in when it comes to dealing with their father's estate. I wanted to share it with others who may not get the article in their local papers. George Cook AAreports.com.

For sale: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. By Leonard Pitts Jr.

Maybe we should take up an offering.

Obviously, the heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. are hard up for money. That must be why they keep selling off pieces of his legacy.

Have you heard the latest? King's youngest child, Bernice, issued a statement last week after her brothers, Dexter and Martin III, filed suit to force her to turn over their father's Nobel Peace Prize and his traveling Bible. She says they want to sell them to a private owner.

According to the suit, King's heirs agreed in 1995 to turn their inheritance over to a corporate entity, The Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc., where Martin is chairman of the board. The complaint says Bernice has "repeatedly acknowledged and conceded the validity" of the agreement, but still refuses to surrender the items. The suit makes no mention of a sale. I called the King brothers' lawyer for comment. He didn't return the call.

In her statement, Bernice writes, "While I love my brothers dearly, this latest decision by them is extremely troubling." She says she is "appalled," "ashamed" and "disappointed" by their behavior. "It reveals a desperation beyond comprehension." Their father, she adds, "MUST be turning in his grave."

Turning? Martin Luther King must be spinning like a record album.

Read more here: For sale: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.