Black History: Special Delivery!!
On April 3, 2018, Dr. Bernice King and her siblings took part in a service at Mason Temple Church in Memphis, TN to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination which occurred on April 4, 1968. The last public speech given by King was at Mason Temple on April 3, 1968. Bernice King comments on the trauma and grief she and her siblings still experience even as adults. …..50 years later. Not only was Dr.
King assassinated, but so was King’s mother, Alberta King who was shot and killed while playing the organ at a church in 1974. King’s brother Rev. Alfred Williams died from drowning in 1969. Many felt the “accidental drowning” may not have been an accident. Alfred King was also very active in the civil rights movement and worked closely with his brother.
Bernice King’s words in commemorating the 50th anniversary of her father’s assassination, are both poignant and moving as she reflects on experiencing the grief and trauma of the father that they “have yet bury“. The grief and trauma of these experiences is still present with them……… 50 years later.
Click on the link below to view an excerpt of Bernice King’s comments:
Dr. @BerniceKing talks about the traumas she and her family have endured after inviting her brother MLKIII to join her on the pulpit #MLK50 #MLK50Forward pic.twitter.com/LlnEXi8IPC
— MLK50: Justice Through Journalism (@MLK50Memphis) April 4, 2018
April 4, 2018 at 5:18 pm
What the family has been through, so sad. If I didn’t know it to be true, I would not believe that those murders happened in America. Yet, in beauty, the legacy moves forward.
April 4, 2018 at 5:20 pm
Yes! The struggle continues. Ironically, if you view the video clip and look at the eyes and expression of Bernice King they are very similar to her childhood expression that was photographed during her father’s funeral 50 years ago.
April 12, 2018 at 7:13 am
Hi Suellen, what do you mean if you didn’t know it to be true, you would have never believed those murders happened in America? America was founded on slavery… and white supremacy is both insidious and institutionalized…
MLK perhaps was as forgiving as he was revolutionary…
but what do you mean you wouldn’t have believed it could happen here?
Please expand on that, if you have the time.
April 12, 2018 at 11:57 am
Not to bug u again Suellen, but I think what happens a lot with MLK and the telling of history currently is to make white people feel comfortable with him. And even tho, yes, he could do that, by inviting anyone willing to work with him to do so… people tend to wanna forget how he was more revolutionary than “dreamy” and perhaps Anne Braden better speaks to white women about this because she wasn’t afraid to call out white supremacy. She didn’t say “white nationalists” (for example) in order to make white supremacy more palatable or watered down. in 2015 Texas actually got control of the text books that teach history to make slavery a “secondary” factor in American history, when in fact it’s the first factor…
the foundation of US history…
anyhow, you might be interested in this… it’s a looong read, but I dunno any other way to introduce this woman:
https://girlpoweracademy.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/anne-braden-is-a-girl-power-academy-civil-rights-activist-recommendation/
April 12, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Since I brought Texas up, I should probably give you this link to consider as well, Suellen…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/whitewashing-civil-war-history-for-young-minds/2015/07/06/1168226c-2415-11e5-b77f-eb13a215f593_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.34a3a05fad12
October 15, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Fascinating information filled with little known facts. Thank you for the enlightenment!
October 15, 2018 at 2:20 pm
I learn something new with every post!