Current:Home > Markets‘He knew we had it in us’: Bernice King talks father Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring ‘dream’-LoTradeCoin
‘He knew we had it in us’: Bernice King talks father Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring ‘dream’
View Date:2025-01-12 20:02:42
Bernice King's father knew, she said, that the days would come when the oppressed and marginalized would need words of reassurance to continue their struggle when he might not be around.
That, she said, was on the mind of her father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as he prepared to address more than 200,000 people at the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963.
“He knew there would be other days in the future, whether he was here or not, where we would be faced with some resistance,” she said in a conversation with USA TODAY in which she recited passages from and reflected on her father’s historic speech.
King revisited the speech, widely considered one of the greatest public orations of all time with its famous four words − "I have a dream" − ahead of the 60th anniversary of its delivery. She considered how portions of the address have been forgotten and its overall purpose muted, even as many of its themes and goals remain relevant today.
Bernice King, who was 5 when her father was assassinated, is now CEO of The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. While people often say how much they love the “I Have A Dream” portion of her father’s speech that day, it’s important to consider his words in their entirety, she said.
King referred to a portion early in the speech in which her father compared the words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to a promissory note "to which every American was to fall heir," meaning, he said, they would be "guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Instead, she said, her father compared the plight of Black Americans to having been given a check reading "insufficient funds."
“That’s what people need to understand, that my father spoke in so many challenging ways to us as a nation,” she said. “Because he wanted us to be our best self.”
Explore the series:MLK’s ‘I have a dream’ speech looms large 60 years later
‘He knew we had it in us’
Bernice King said her father’s "insufficient funds" metaphor, describing the state of unequal opportunity that Black people faced in 1963, was crucial because it set the tone for the rest of the address. The early 1960s were a time of strife and turmoil, when the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were goals whose achievement yet remained in question.
“But he said ‘We have hope,’” she said. “And I still have that hope. ... He knew we had it in us. But we had to wake up to that and understand our responsibility to each other.”
King said her father’s words captured “that kind of restless energy in young people that we even see today − that we’re tired of waiting for these things to be manifested.” That similar issues of economic and racial inequality exist today defy characterizations of the march as “that was then, this is now” history, she said.
“A lot of similar conditions still exist,” she said, noting that event organizers had prepared a 10-point list of demands that in addition to civil rights legislation and desegregation of all public schools included a national minimum wage and federally funded job training and placement for all unemployed workers, Black or white.
“People always forget that this was part of a greater strategy,” she said.
It’s not about being colorblind
King also brought up the portion of her father's speech in which he said his dream included a time in which his children would be judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." She said people have often approached her and told her they side with her father, that they don’t see the color of other people’s skin. But that’s not what he meant, she said − what he meant is that laws and practices should not serve to subjugate one race to another.
“I’ve been trying to tell people,” she said, “if you’re going to fight for justice and right the wrongs of this society, use the example of Martin Luther King. He taught us how to be love.”
She said her father and mother, Coretta Scott King, had arrived late to Washington the night before her father delivered his historic speech, and they were up into the wee hours as he polished his address. Then, as was his custom, he let his wife read it over to get her input.
“She was so proud of him,” Bernice King said. “I don’t even think he understood that moment at a level she understood it. That’s why the work she did to help to institutionalize his work, his words and his contributions have been so important. Because without her we wouldn’t be talking about him like this today.”
veryGood! (425)
Related
- The Daily Money: Markets react to Election 2024
- Vermont’s flood-damaged capital is slowly rebuilding. And it’s asking tourists and residents to help
- A deaf football team will debut a 5G-connected augmented reality helmet to call plays
- Powerball dreams: What can $1.4 billion buy me? Jeff Bezos' yacht, a fighter jet and more.
- Lane Kiffin puts heat on CFP bracket after Ole Miss pounds Georgia. So, who's left out?
- Trump endorses Jim Jordan for House speaker
- MLB playoff predictions: Braves are World Series favorites, but postseason looks wide open
- Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks gets her own Barbie doll
- Pedro Pascal's Sister Lux Pascal Debuts Daring Slit on Red Carpet at Gladiator II Premiere
- A Baltic Sea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia is shut down over a suspected leak
Ranking
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- Chrissy Metz and Bradley Collins Break Up After 3 Years
- Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez Settle Divorce 6 Months After Breakup
- Maralee Nichols and Tristan Thompson's Son Theo Showcases His Athletic Skills
- Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
- Make Meal Prepping a Breeze With These 17 Amazon Must-Haves
- Texas vs. Oklahoma live updates: Everything you need to know about Red River Rivalry
- Opinion: Fewer dings, please!
Recommendation
-
Advocacy group sues Tennessee over racial requirements for medical boards
-
Starbucks announces seven store closures in San Francisco. Critics question why
-
Oregon man convicted of murder in shooting of sheriff’s deputy in Washington sentenced to life
-
Brothers Osborne say fourth album marks a fresh start in their country music journey: We've shared so much
-
After Baltimore mass shooting, neighborhood goes full year with no homicides
-
India flash flooding death toll climbs after a glacial lake burst that scientists had warned about for years
-
Sam Bankman-Fried stole customer funds from the beginning of FTX, exchange’s co-founder tells jury
-
UAW chief Shawn Fain says strike talks with automakers are headed in the right direction