The newest King

First MLK grandchild already senses legacy

s the son of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. works on making  a brighter future for the younger generation, he now has an extra measure of motivation: the newest descendant in the King lineage, who was introduced to the public for the first time in North Texas.

Martin Luther King III came to Dallas last summer as the keynote speaker for the 4th Annual Youth Summit on Non-Violence, held at and sponsored by Central Pointe Church of Christ. He brought some special extra company: Arndrea, his wife of three years and Yolanda Renee, their now 20-month old daughter and the first grandchild of Martin Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

“We feel very blessed that God gave us this child,” Mr. King told The Dallas Weekly about her daughter of whom they named after his sister, Yolanda King, who died in 2007. 

“We know she’s a gift from God because it’s amazing much of what and who she is as a reflection of her parents.”

Martin and Arndrea have thought deeply about how they plan on raising Yolanda Renee, in light of her famous pedigree.

“I think I’m more concerned with who she is, as opposed to what she becomes,” said Arndrea. “Our greatest challenge is to make sure that she has a love of God, family and community. Whatever way she chooses to live her life, we look for her to do so in a way that will be reflective of both of her grandparents, with a certain level of respect and service. But at the same time, she will have the freedom to be her own person.”

The Kings are prepared to teach Yolanda Renee about both her grandfather and grandmother, but they saw something that let them know she’s already sensing their greatness. This came while watching television and viewing “Eyes on the Prize” the award-winning documentary about the Civil Rights Movement.  

“Every time either one of her grandparents would come on, she would stop, stand still and watch the television,” Martin said. “As soon as they got off, she would go about her active ways, then she would stop, stand still and pay attention.”

Martin continues to emulate his father’s philosophy in his own way, as President and CEO of Realizing the Dream, a human rights organization that addresses economic development, youth leadership and conflict resolution and non-violence. He spoke to the youth at Central Pointe’s youth summit, encouraging them to build values and standards that will help them foster more peaceful and positive neighborhoods and communities.

“If young people can personify that message, then we would probably be able to reduce guns, violence, killings, all over America, not in any one community, because actually Dallas is no more unique than any other American city,” King said. “If we were to provide a model of non-violence in our schools for our kids to be trained upon, it would give them an alternative. The problem is our young people are inundated with negativity all over America. We have to give them something positive, values and ethics, although it should be learned in the home.”

King implored to use today’s modern technology as tools to communicate such values.

“We have to use MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, now,” he said. “As technology changes, we have to make sure our message is able to flow through that technology if we do that, we get the message out in an incredible way that we’ve never seen before. Things today are instant, that’s all over the globe.”

In spite of Barack Obama’s historic presidency, racial issues will still persist, King said.

“There are still deep disparities particularly in communities of color. (President Obama’s) plate is full. We can’t just say that we’re going to leave it to him. He needs us to help govern and to create the type of climate so that services can be delivered to the people.

“If we can teach young people to have a total love of themselves, a lover of their families, their community and God, we probably have a great chance of changing our society.
If we can really understand and embrace these things, I think we have a good start.”

Central Pointe’s Youth Summit recruited several prominent citizens, all who participated on seminars covering numerous topics. King praised the church for the event. His living sister, Bernice King, came with Martin in 2008.

As he held Yolanda Renee in his arms, King said: “What I hope to be able to be able to do is to create the kind of community where my child and every child have an opportunity to achieve whatever they want to. They won’t have to worry about violence, about somebody preying on them, getting the best education. I want us to create what my father called a ‘beloved community.’”