MARTIN LUTHER KING JR:
Iconic leader’s loved ones look to UK protests of togetherness
Four thousand miles away, a family in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, huddled around their TV screen and watched Britain’s Black Lives Matter protests unfold.
What they saw made their spirits soar. This trio had watched repeatedly over the past fortnight with a combination of pride and hope – and fear, when violence flared – as similar protests reacting to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, swelled across America, including a few miles from their home.
But there was something particularly powerful about the largely peaceful UK scenes.
“What was so encouraging to me was the crowds weren’t all black Britons marching – you had black Britons, a lot of white Britons, Asian Britons, you had a real cross-section of people coming together in Britain saying, ‘This is enough,”’ explains Arndrea Waters King.
“We have felt supported and inspired by what we have seen in the UK,” adds her husband, Martin Luther King III.
This family, of course, has especial reason to be buoyed by the global demos they are seeing in the face of 46-year-old Floyd’s death on May 25, which exemplifies deep-rooted discrimination across the US, and the world.
Human rights advocate Mr King is the son of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, whose campaign for civil rights for African Americans was brought to a tragic halt 52 years ago with his assassination by James Earl Ray, on April 4, 1968.
And 12-year-old Yolanda, sitting serious next to her parents, is the iconic figure’s only grandchild, who wishes she could have met her “Papa King” and “sat on his knee”.
Poignantly, she turned 12 the day Floyd died – and more than ever, feeling confused and angry, she would love to speak to her grandfather.
In the UK, protests have at times turned to violence. Last weekend crowds in Bristol tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston. While the Kings do not condone violence, they advocate a different way, but are empathetic.
“I always believe there is a way to get things done, the right way, but people are emotionally frustrated right now. I certainly concur with the spirit,” says Mr King, 62. “These statues belong in museums. The public has to acknowledge its history. I just don’t believe they are symbols that represent unification of communities so don’t belong on the outside. They don’t belong in places of honour. “My father used to say a riot is the language of the unheard, and while he never condoned violence
he certainly understood why people would protest with violence, why they were forced to violence.”
The family point out the UK’s slave trade history is tied to America’s and agree there are similarities between racism faced here, and in their country.
Although they also highlight Brexit as a specific catalyst for division.
“The vote was a vote that emboldened a racist attitude, to say others are not important, it’s all about us, we need to disconnect from people, target immigrants,” believes Mr King.
There is also a disturbing parallel to be drawn between racist comments made by their president and racist language previously used by our PM. The couple say while Donald Trump isn’t listening, Boris Johnson must.
Mrs King says: “I’d hope he’d use this moment to listen to his people, make atonement for where he has made errors and try to build a better society for all Britain. He has an opportunity to be a different type of leader to what we have witnessed here.
“I believe he has a brand new baby? I’d hope he would be cognisant of what type of world he wants for his child and all British children.”
Mr King describes how his family were all “brought to tears, anger, frustration and hostility” when they watched the video showing Floyd pleading for breath as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
Chauvin faces charges of seconddegree murder and manslaughter, while three other officers are charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Initially, he admits he couldn’t bear to watch the “heinous act”. “We saw the life come out of this human being who could not do anything,” he says, a rare flash of anger.
He believes police discrimination against African-Americans would not exist if his father had not been shot. Mr King, aged 10 when his dad died, recalls racial harassment. “Every now and then one of us would pick up the phone and people would make very nasty threats using the N-word, or tell us to ‘get out’,” he says.
Yet he was taken on marches with his dad and witnessed the strength of feeling he galvanised.
“I travelled with my dad eight or 10 times and marched two or three times, but I didn’t see any violence,” he recalls. “If my father had lived and others, we’d be in a different world.”
I ask whether as an adult, he has experienced racism. Yolanda whispers in his ear, urging him to speak out. He describes times white colleagues have been treated differently, served first, adding: “I’ve been called the N-word, particularly when I was young.”
Mr King admits: “I am very concerned for Yolanda’s future, but I am hopeful now because of the demonstrations. I do believe we are embarking upon monumental change.
“I don’t think the nation has a choice and I hope the change reverberates all round the world.
“I think my father’s dream will become closer to becoming reality.”