53 Years After MLK’s Assassination, Youngsters of Civil Rights Icons Battle Voter Suppression

Bernice A. King, together with the children of the late civil rights activist Rev. CT Vivian and US Representative John Lewis, broke the voter suppression laws that came into force since the 2020 elections. (Photo: Bernice A. King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and CEO of the King Center, introduces civil rights activists Julian Bond, John Lewis and Andrew Young at the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library. Photo by Lauren Gerson. / Wikimedia Commons )

From Stacy M. Brown, Senior National Correspondent, NNPA Newswire
@StacyBrownMedia

Fifty-three years after the death of Pastor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the legacy of the slain civil rights icon easily reveals itself in how his daughter continued to fight for many of the same causes.

Bernice A. King, together with the children of the late civil rights activist Rev. CT Vivian and US Representative John Lewis, broke the voter suppression laws that came into force since the 2020 elections.

In one letter, King, Al Vivian, and John-Miles Lewis met with business leaders who have done little or nothing to support comments their companies have made in support of racial justice.

The trio said these companies “disregarded” their fathers.

“Rather than sowing seeds to give democracy the greatest chance to grow today and prevail tomorrow, lawmakers are trying to take us back to the shameful days of American history when suppression of mass voters for color communities was the law of the country” said King Vivian and Lewis wrote.

Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp has signed law that mandates new postal voting ID requirements and restricts the availability of ballot boxes.

The law also gives voters less time to request and return a postal ballot, and it prohibits anyone from giving those in line any food or water to cast their votes.

The new law is the state’s response to President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in November and to the victory of Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in January.

Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others have either condemned the new voting restrictions or made social media statements expressing their concern.

When Delta Air Lines ended its collaboration with the National Rifle Association, Republican lawmakers reportedly removed a tax break from their tax reform bill that would have saved the airline $ 40 million.

But King said that shouldn’t stop companies from making the right choices.

“Corporate leaders have the greatest influence in Washington and on our state lawmakers,” King told Forbes. “They pay lobbyists and invest in campaigns. They must use their leverage – their lobbying lever – on Capitol Hill and at the state level. “

On the evening of April 4, 1968, an assassin hit King while he was standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

King, 39, came to Memphis to support a plumbing strike. The civil rights activist had repeatedly voiced concerns about economic inequality and went to Memphis for mistreatment of African-American plumbing workers.

One night before his death, King made his last – some say prophetic – speech. “We have some difficult days ahead of us,” preached the determined king.

“But now I really don’t care because I was on the mountaintop… I may not come there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we will come to the Promised Land as a people. “

The letter, written in part by Bernice King, highlighted the icon’s statements on overcoming racism.

“Evil cannot organize itself permanently. It bears seeds of its own destruction, ”the letter reads.

The children of the three civil rights icons went on to say:

“This belief underpins our enduring belief in America as lawmakers in Georgia and 39 other states try to anchor our nation in yesterday’s oppressive weeds through a new generation of Jim Crow electoral laws.”