Martin Luther King Jr. III reflects on significance of his father’s message in US today

Son of MLK Jr. reflects on significance of his father's message in US today

The son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. honored his father’s legacy Sunday and reflected on the significance of his message during a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating his work.

Martin Luther King Jr. III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, laid a wreath at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall before speaking to and taking pictures with a small crowd.

“I would like to be able to say that we had achieved the dream that my father envisioned and shared for the nation. My father, I should say, and mother. Unfortunately, that is just not true,” King said.

Standing at the base of a nearly 30-foot statue of Dr. King, his son and daughter-in-law said, while the nation remains polarized, their family is an example that endurance overcomes.

“Out of the mountain of despair, you got to find a stone of hope, so that we can lift people,” he said.

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Grace Newton

Grace Newton is an Associate Producer at WTOP. She also works as an associate producer for NPR Newscast. Grace was born and raised in North Carolina but has lived in D.C. since 2018. Grace graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in art history in 2022.

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