Relatives of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr are making a rare trip to Memphis on Thursday on the anniversary of his assassination, to speak on the rising threat of political violence, especially in an election year.
Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the late King, will pay tribute to his father’s legacy, 56 years after the assassination in the Tennessee city.
King was shot and killed in 1968 as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis.
On Thursday, King III will host a public celebration of of his father’s life and activism at the historic National Civil Rights Museum, which is located near the Lorraine motel, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.
The event will end with a moment of silence, marking the time when King was killed.
Relatives of King do not generally make the pilgrimage to Memphis, and certainly not as a family unit, but have said they felt it was necessary to do so during a presidential election year in which the US is so divided and violent rhetoric is becoming routine, chiefly from the far right.
“This is the first year that we actually are going back as a family to Memphis, and we felt that it was extraordinarily important to be there in that spot this year,” King III’s wife, Arndrea Waters King, said to Axios.
King III told Axios that his family was growing concerned at the lack of civility in politics.
“We believe we have to go into difficult areas, to use our platform, to use our voice to lift up what we believe is good, just and right. And so we’re willing to make a sacrifice,” King III said, adding that the family was determined to visit Memphis in spite of its painful associations.
Arndrea Waters King added that the latest commemoration of King’s legacy and untimely death comes as civil rights in the US are eroding.
“We feel that in some ways there’s a backward movement from the dream,” she said to Memphis Magazine.
“Laws are being passed where our daughter – Dr King’s only grandchild – has fewer rights now at 16 than the day that she was born,” she added, referring to her daughter, 15-year-old Yolanda Renee King.
In recent years, the supreme court has rolled back federal abortion protections and affirmative action, which promoted greater student diversity at US colleges and universities.
King III has also spoken out against attacks on voting rights, especially as the US Senate failed to pass meaningful voting rights legislation in 2022 and the supreme court further eroded protections.
“We’re gonna continue to push to get something done. Because to me, it’s fundamental to the foundation of our democracy. It’s those on the other side who seem to have lost the perception of what democracy is,” King III said of voting rights in a 2022 interview.
