"Racism is still with us": celebration of King’s 1963 speech shadowed by racist attack

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"Racism is still with us": celebration of King’s 1963 speech shadowed by racist attack

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Martin Luther King’s family decried the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, the overturning of Roe and gun violence in the US

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Yolanda Renee King said that if she could talk to her grandfather today, she would apologise. “I would say I’m sorry we still have to be here to rededicate ourselves to finishing your work and ultimately realizing your dream. Today, racism is still with us. Poverty is still with us. And now, gun violence has come for places of worship, our schools and our shopping centers.”

Martin Luther King III, the son of the civil rights leader, warned that there has been a recent resurgence of hate crimes against minorities. He called the violence "unconscionable" and "unacceptable".

While many gathered on Saturday to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and the first March on Washington, a tragic echo of 1963 unfolded in Florida. A white man deliberately shot and killed three Black people in Jacksonville, according to the city's sheriff.

Arndrea Waters King, compared the Florida shooting to the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which took place two weeks after the March on Washington and killed four African American girls. "We saw the hate yesterday. Unfortunately, it demonstrated how little progress we've made since 1963."

Martin Luther King III said that his daughter, Yolanda Renee King, has fewer rights today than when she was born. He cited the Supreme Court's decisions to strike down the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Roe v. Wade in 2022, and affirmative action in 2023 as evidence of this decline in rights.

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08

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27

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2023

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12

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/27/martin-luther-king-march-on-washington-60th-anniversary

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60th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech

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Martin Luther King III, the son of the civil rights leader, warned that there has been a recent resurgence of hate crimes against minorities. He called the violence "unconscionable" and "unacceptable".

News

While many gathered on Saturday to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and the first March on Washington, a tragic echo of 1963 unfolded in Florida. A white man deliberately shot and killed three Black people in Jacksonville, according to the city's sheriff.

News