The Atlantic

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Daughter Embraces His Hope for the Future

During another polarizing period in America’s history, Bernice A. King lays out three actions that she thinks her father would offer today.
Source: Flip Schulke / Corbis / Getty

Editor’s Note: Read The Atlantic’s special coverage of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.

Bernice A. King, the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, was 5 years old when her father was assassinated. A mediator, orator, and minister, she has been the CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in Atlanta, since 2010.


marks the 50th anniversary of the day my father, Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated. Many, we are concerned that humanity is widening the chasms that divide us, instead of building bridges that can move us ahead. This is why the theme for our commemoration of this anniversary is “: Together We Win, With Love for Humanity.”

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic6 min read
Florida’s Experiment With Measles
The state of Florida is trying out a new approach to measles control: No one will be forced to not get sick. Joseph Ladapo, the state’s top health official, announced this week that the six cases of the disease reported among students at an elementar
The Atlantic6 min read
There’s Only One Way to Fix Air Pollution Now
It feels like a sin against the sanctitude of being alive to put a dollar value on one year of a human life. A year spent living instead of dead is obviously priceless, beyond the measure of something so unprofound as money. But it gets a price tag i
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies

Related Books & Audiobooks