Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Daughter, Yolanda King in Madison

He walked to the microphone during the question & answer session and raised his head up so that his mouth could project into the speaker. “Did you ever hear your father speak?” he asked. Yolanda flashed a comforting smile and said, “Of course honey, I was there! But I didn’t really remember anything. I had to learn about the things he said after I grew up!  I was only 12 when he was killed.” She paused ever so slightly and then asked, “How old are you?”

The boy at the microphone said, “Twelve.”

Yolanda King, oldest daughter of slain civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed a Madison audience Wednesday night, October 11, 2006 at Edgewood College. King challenged the near capacity-filled crowd in the Edgedome to remember the victories that were won during the civil rights movement, to embrace the great diversity that is humanity, and to remember that in the end, everyone is really so very much alike.

“Less than one percent of your DNA separates you from another human being,” King said. “Yet, there are amazing gems that have come from those one percent differences. We must celebrate difference until difference doesn’t make a difference in how we treat one another. This must be our goal.”

King, who is an actress, producer, author and CEO of her own production company – Higher Ground– gave theatrical vignettes throughout her inspirational presentation that recounted scenes from the civil rights era.

One vignette portrayed the events in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1963, when Birmingham’s Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Conner doused the civil rights marchers with torrents of rushing water from fire hoses and then unleashed large, German-shepherd attack dogs. King related how the marchers met at church that next Sunday and held a prayer meeting. Then they came out of church and met Conner with the police guards and dogs in the street again. This time, the marchers knelt down in the streets to pray. Then as they began to walk forward, King recounted that many said they were not afraid. Next, they said, a strange thing happened. The men with the fire hoses fell backwards, the dogs were silent, and the marchers were able to complete their march. King said that next week, segregation in Birmingham, Alabama fell.  King triumphantly proclaimed to the Edgewood audience that miracles DO happen. “When people rally around a purpose that is clear and just – miracles happen!”  She added that miracles can still happen today.

King emphasized to the audience the importance of recounting African-American history to African-American children so that new generations don’t forget the victories that were achieved. She said she realized that for most of the people in the Edgedome her father and the events of the civil rights era felt foreign and far away. She said the reason she uses her gifts is to remind people of the victories achieved and to challenge people to strive for the betterment of all humanity.

After her presentation, Yolanda King did a book signing for her new release, Embracing Your Power in 30 Days.  King’s presentation was sponsored by the Edgewood College student government association.