Martin Luther King III is a social justice activist, international public speaker and author. King’s work in the nonprofit sector combats the “triple evils” of racism, poverty and militarism, mirroring the work of his father Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In his visit to VCU on Sunday, King met with student and community leaders and delivered a keynote address. King shared his views on recent events and social justice issues.
The Stoneman-Douglas High School Shooting
“There’s something wrong when our society is stuck and chooses not to do something about an issue that’s so serious. We should always be protecting our young people. A nation is judged by how it treats its most precious resource.
“Certainly our most precious resource would be our children. There are students all over America who feel that they’re not safe. We have to create a safe space.”
“Nothing has been done from a legal perspective for the laws to change and make gun safety an issue. There’s nothing ever that one can say positive about an incident where people lose their lives, but the positiveness is that others will become engaged and fight in the struggle and challenge the nation to become better.
“I enjoy understanding where students are today because every moment, as it relates to leadership, is infused by student engagement. Although it’s very tragic that 17 persons lost theirs lives in Florida, it’s very refreshing to see students leading a movement to say “listen, do we really need assault weapons?” I feel very positive about what the prospects — the best really is yet to come and we’re just scratching the surface.”
Embracing a Culture of Nonviolence
“I certainly believe that nonviolence is a viable option to be used, but people have to be trained and taught how to use nonviolence. It’s not something we automatically learn because when we are growing up, the philosophy is if somebody hits you, you hit them back.
“Now unfortunately, it’s become if somebody hits you, you shoot them. Once a gun is used, it’s the end. We have created a culture of violence and accepted it. The more violence there is, the more we seem to embrace it. We have to teach people how to use a different methodology to address their conflict. We must find a way to create a culture of nonviolence. That will change the trajectory tremendously, I believe.
“Everything lies in teaching and training. People have to say to their educators and school systems that they want conflict resolution. That means sensitivity training, human relations training, diversity training — all of that becomes part of a curriculum. That is what we must work toward, I believe, if we want to truly change our society to create this culture of nonviolence.”
Eradicating Poverty
“We have to first acknowledge that the problem exists. We don’t even focus on it. If we used the same ingenuity that we use to develop buildings and new technology on eradicating poverty, we could eradicate it tomorrow. Something is wrong with a nation that has a $20 trillion economy, yet has the audacity to have poor people. We are not a developing country, we are a developed country, yet we have not created the opportunity for more people to participate.
“I did a tour about eight years ago called Poverty in America. We went to 40 communities — Native American reservations, Skid Row in Los Angeles, Appalachia in West Virginia and a lot of urban and suburban communities — and what we found out was in all those areas, most of the problems were the same. There was a lack of affordable housing, the education system was not preparing people for jobs, there was poor health, and several other issues. So until we look at a strategic, holistic plan to address and eradicate poverty, we’re not going to do it.
“While we’ve made some headway, we haven’t made enough progress to address [poverty]. Ironically, the behavior of President Trump is causing issues we thought were dormant to rise to the surface. People are now joining together to address these issues to create a better community. And I see that happening. There are movements occurring and taking place as we speak, all the time. So I think the goal is to make sure people retain and maintain hope. We can never lose hope.”
The Power of Social Media
“Every movement for social change has been lead largely by young people. My dad was 27 years old when he was leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott. My father and his team didn’t have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram – none of the modalities that exist today. They had a mimeograph machine making flyers and they were able to transform a whole nation.
“People have been killed and have killed themselves because of how they’ve been ostracized online. That’s technology being used at its worst. But then there are other things like the Arab Spring a few years ago in the Middle East. That was organized totally by social media.
“Today, the opportunity for young people to do things is far greater because you can connect with other movements around the world. All we’ve got to do is to tap into social media and we could change our local communities, states and our nation.”
Political Mobilization of Youth
“We need the leadership of you as young people. Everyone can participate in some way, form or fashion today because of technology. I hope young people run for office. At 21, you could be a soldier graduating from military school and become a lieutenant. If you can command a platoon of soldiers at 21, why can’t you run for school board?
“Why can’t you run for state legislative offices? Young people, I hope, will become engaged in the political elected system, because you guys will bring the ideas. Some of us are older — we may think we have the ideas — but obviously some of what we’ve talked about hasn’t worked. We need your input.”
Nia Tariq, Contributing Writer
Saffeya Ahmed, Contributing Writer