MLK III says ‘no celebration without legislation’
Associated Press / Eric Gay
Caribbean Life, January 7-13, 2022 11
By Vinette K. Pryce
On the holiday named in
honor of his father Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., the benefactor
of his legacy of Civil Rights
activism is advocating for “no
celebration” without reforms to
two voting legislative acts pending
in the House of Representatives.
Instead of the annual national
festive commemorative celebrations,
the activist proposes alternative
action demanding the
passage of the John Lewis Voting
Rights Advancement Act and
the Freedom To Vote Act.
The latter would make it easier
to register to vote, make Election
Day a public holiday, and
ensure states have early voting
for federal elections allowing all
voters to request mail-in ballots,
among other provisions.
King’s intention is to nudge
President Joe Biden and legislators
to act swiftly to enact
the bill which is named in honor
of the late civil rights icon and
late Georgia congressman and
also fight voter suppression.
The aim is also to restore provisions
Dr. MLK achieved with
the enactment of the 1965 Voting
Rights Act.
“President Biden and Congress
used their political muscle
to deliver a vital infrastructure
deal, and now we are calling on
them to do the same to restore
the very voting rights protections
my father and countless
other civil rights leaders bled
to secure,” Martin Luther King
III said.
Along with his wife Arndrea
Waters King and their daughter
Yolanda Renee King who issued
a joint statement said he “will
not accept empty promises in
pursuit of my father’s dream for
a more equal and just America.”
Together the family plan to
mobilize supporters of the MLK
ideals on the weekend preceding
Jan. 17 by urging Democrats
to influence Republicans
in advancing the federal voting
rights bills with the same vigor
they mustered to pass the $1.2
trillion infrastructure bill.
“You delivered for bridges,
now deliver for voting rights.”
In order to dramatize the parallels
between the issues, King
family members will join activists
in Phoenix, Arizona on the
actual Jan. 15 birthdate of MLK
to rally support for the initiative
by marching across a bridge in
the city to make comparisons
with MLK’s historic and daring
1965 challenge to cross the
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma,
Alabama.
The gesture they claim will
“restore and expand voting rights
to honor Dr. King’s legacy.”
More than five decades ago,
MLK and supporters faced southern
racists in the state in order to
secure voting rights denied to
Black Americans there.
Allegedly, the western location
was chosen because Arizona
maintains “draconian” voting
rights law, with provisions
which were upheld by the US
Supreme Court last year.
Those provisions allegedly
limit the ability of minority voters
to challenge state laws under
the Voting Rights Act.
The family will continue a
public lobbying on the federal
holiday of commemoration by
marching across the Frederick
Douglass Memorial Bridge in
Washington, DC.
“If we’re really talking about
celebrating the legacy of Martin
Luther King Jr., voting rights
was a cornerstone of his legacy,”
Waters King added.
“We cannot simply in good
faith celebrate him or celebrate
that legacy with this current
attack on access to the ballot
box.”
Traditionally regarded as a
national day of service, throughout
the years communities have
adopted initiatives to express
MLK’s dream of bettering America
. However, this year, the family
contends that there’s “no better
way to observe the King holiday”
than to exercise democracy and
civil rights.
Their actions along with
those of a coalition of more than
80 groups will call on the president
and the Senate to pass
the Freedom to Vote Act and
the John Lewis Voting Rights
Advancement Act they believe
will “ensure the Jim Crow filibuster
doesn’t stand in the way.”
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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