I was 10 years old when my father was assassinated in 1968.
I was 10 years old when my father was assassinated in 1968. Then, I had some sense of the sacrifices and hardships required of the families of a leader who was constantly in the news.
But there is just no way to adequately prepare a 10-year old for the sudden loss of a much-loved father. It was a confusing time, with many painful moments.
Yet a half-century later, the most powerful feeling I still have is gratitude, not only for the wonderful times I shared with my father, but also for having a strong mother, who inspired me with the way she raised us, kept her promise to make sure our father would be remembered, and continued to serve humanity until her death in 2006.
I’m grateful, as well, to all those who have worked so hard to carry forward my father’s unfinished work, which continues today in many different forms, including the Me Too, March for Our Lives and Black Lives Matter movements.
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I’m sure my father would applaud the explosion of youth activism that has emerged in response to the gun violence pandemic. I’m certain my parents would agree it is gratifying to see young people leading social change projects in a multiracial coalition. They would also be encouraged that these young people are registering and educating voters in this extremely important election year.
My wife and I are thrilled that today we find high school and younger students leading the way. We were especially proud when our 9-year old daughter, Yolanda Renee King, addressed the recent protest rally in Washington and delivered her impassioned plea for a “gun-free world.”
In a remarkably short time, the courageous and visionary leadership of the young forced legislative reforms in Florida, including a new law raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21, a three-day waiting period and restrictions on bump stocks.
While this legislation falls far short of what is needed, it is striking how fast the political establishment passed the bill.
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We should also be open to additional reforms, including some of the high-tech proposals like requiring microchips in future guns not owned by the military, which can disable the weapon in certain areas. With this technology, it’s possible that digitized “safe zones” can be established in schools.
Every victory in this struggle is welcome. There is no one policy that can end gun violence. But a ban on the sale of assault weapons to the general public is a critical goal that must be achieved if we are ever going to have peaceful communities.
Looking ahead, the new youth coalition can also play a leadership role in creating a “culture of nonviolence” that nurtures peaceful values and a broad range of policies and projects to reduce violence.
In addition to gun safety measures, a culture of nonviolence should include more nonviolent conflict-resolution training for law enforcement and young people; boycotts of the sponsors of media that promote violence; and job training and educational opportunities, so that all young people can have reason to hope for a better future.
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There must also be energetic voter registration campaigns to make it happen. Back when my father recruited young people to join our freedom struggle, he asked them to endure a “season of suffering” to make America a greater nation.
Fifty years after his assassination, I look forward to the future, not with sadness and despair, but with a growing sense of optimism that we can, indeed, create a culture of nonviolence in America and worldwide — for this is how we can realize his dream.
Martin Luther King III is a human rights activist and advocate for nonviolence.
