COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a keynote address to students, faculty and staff at Texas A&M Thursday morning for an MLK breakfast. She spoke on her childhood growing up with Dr. King and navigating life without him but still honoring his accomplishments along the way.
Dr. Bernice King says we as a people have to navigate life working together and not against one another.
“We have to find a way to elevate humanity to a place where we’re operating out of the right spirited heart towards each other in spite of us differing, and you look for win-win pathways, but you don’t compromise on injustice and inequity,” said Dr. Bernice A. King, Daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
She spoke on the importance of nonviolence and how the coined term is intended for people to focus on justice and peace.
“Nonviolence leads to outcomes,” said Dr. Bernice King. “It leads to civil rights act, voting rights act, fair housing act. It leads to a win-win pathway. Daddy said true peace is not merely the absence of tension it is the presence of justice.”
She says nonviolence is not the absence of violence. It is the prescription for violence.
While she would have loved to have her father with her growing up, Dr. Bernice King says she wouldn’t change the outcome of events for anything.
“The world is better because of his life,” said Dr. Bernice King. “I wouldn’t want to take that from the world. I’ll manage what I’m dealing with emotionally because that’s much more important. I can’t imagine a world that didn’t have Martin Luther King Jr.”
Director of MLK special projects JJ Torres says he hopes students walk away from this keynote filled with hope for the future.
“Hopefully they take with them a message of hope and I guess faith in the future generation,” said JJ Torres, Director, MLK Special Projects. “Even though we have a lot of faculty here and we have plenty of the community, we are a university right so our main audience is our students so we hope they themselves are inspired by the event.”
“When my father was assassinated, he was one of the most hated persons in the United States of America,” said Dr. Bernice King. “You can find that. It’s documented, but now he is one of the most loved persons in the world.”