The daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Bernice A. King, is speaking out against those, both of the left and right, who’ve used the words of her father to manipulate the narrative. Dr. Bernie King was recently on Jimmy Fallon’s show where she discussed the current climate of the states before addressing people who’ve missed the mark while quoting MLK Jr.
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“In ’68 my father was one of the most hated men in America, and now he’s one of the most loved men in the world,” she said. “So much so that people do take liberties and kind of take different quotes to fit their situation, and nothing is more frustrating for me than that.”
She added, “If you’re going to use his words, try to find the context of those words that he used them in. For instance, when he talked about riots being the language of the unheard, he was not justifying and saying that he endorsed riots. He was explaining where the riots are coming from.”
Though she acknowledged the use of his “I Have A Dream” speech, she made it clear that her father wasn’t asking for a colorblind America. “He was basically explaining that, no, there’s a beauty in who I am as a black person, but I should not be judged by those standards. It’s not that you don’t see my race. You see my race, you acknowledge my race and you accept everything I bring along with that,” she said.
Watch the full clip below.