The dream lives on
Martin Luther King III continuing the work of his father
His father had a dream.
Today in Lethbridge, Martin Luther King III will share part of that lasting message and legacy.
King is one of the coheadline speakers for today’s Greatness in Leadership Management Development Day, hosted by Teamworks Training Institute and Select People Solutions, taking place at the Enmax Centre. He’ll speak at 9:45 this morning.
During an exclusive advance, wide-ranging interview with The Herald last week, King discussed a variety of current events, including his meeting with the new U.S. president, and detailed some of his speech topics for the Lethbridge presentation.
He plans to talk about his humanitarian work, his thoughts on environmental standards and voter reform, as well as current events, from the impact of last year’s Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, to how his home nation seems more fractured than ever.
“Our world, as we see it, is getting smaller and smaller — and yet, by the same token, it seems to be getting more divided,” King said on the phone from Atlanta last week.
“From my perspective, personally, my father and his team taught us how to embrace the concept of non violence — where we would live in a society without destroying either person or property, and we would treat each other in a civil way. It just seems elements of our society are responding less civilly than we historically have,” King continued.
“Terrorism is driving a lot of the attitudes that make people embrace a concept of safety at all costs.
“I do believe we have to have standing military still to protect and defend our communities. But I think there’s a more constructive way to do it, than just to ban people from coming into a country. I’ll talk, from my view, how we have to navigate through all of this.”
King said he believes every major social movement — notably the women’s movement and the LGTBQ movement — derive inspiration from the modern civil rights movement.
He also said the United States came together when they elected Barack Obama as president in 2008. But now, with Trump in office, they are almost back to some levels not seen since before that very same 1960s civil rights movement.
“The president, just a couple days ago, talked about creating a better America for all Americans,” King said.
“And everyone supports that. But the question is ‘what strategy do we use to accomplish that?’ I certainly still believe in the philosophy of non violence, which can work. If he wants to be a unifier, in my judgment that is what the nation and the world wants. That’s what’s needed.”
King met with then Presidentelect Trump in January, just days before the inauguration. King said their meeting largely dealt with voting practices and identification.
As not everyone has a driver’s licence, King said he proposed an idea for the president to sign an executive order making it possible for social security cards to feature photo ID. He made a similar recommendation previously to Obama.
“That would certainly address that particular issue of people not having an ID,” King said. “Pretty much universally, everybody has a social security card.”
King said he and Trump plan to meet again, likely within the next few months at the White House, to discuss other issues involving human rights and global rights.
“What the name King, and the legacy King, brings to the table is a legacy of bringing people together. When you talk about the dream, it really is about freedom and justice and equality for all humankind. We’ve not yet achieved that mantra, that mission,” King said, adding he looks forward to sharing the message with the Lethbridge crowd.
“What hopefully will be taken away is that, wherever you are in the world and in your community, through leadership you can bring about positive change. No matter what the issue is, it just takes really a few good women and men to mobilize to bring about change. I think my dad showed us that.”