The eldest son of the late Martin Luther King Jr. said Monday that the country is “gonna get there on voting rights” and deliver on his father’s legacy.
Martin Luther King III during an appearance on CNN critiqued restrictions that impede Americans from casting their ballots and said the country has work to do on shoring up voting legislation and making access to the polling place easier.
“It’s going to be quite difficult for any of that to happen with this Republican-led Congress, but we have to keep exerting pressure on them. Nothing happened in the modern Civil Rights movement until it happened,” he said.
“And so my point is, as we’re exerting pressure, we will get there. Now, It may not be this year, but we’re gonna get there on voting rights,” he added.
Martin Luther King III also said voting restrictions that plague his home state of Georgia and elsewhere in the nation are “very tragic” and underscored the importance of a “climate where people have unfettered access to the polls.”
And he lamented that the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act didn’t make it out of Congress during the last session.
The remarks came on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which President Biden marked Sunday with remarks at the Atlanta church, where the late civil rights activist preached.
Biden said the country is “at an inflection point” in its fight for democracy and invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to “redeem the soul of America” as the country hits a crossroads.
“The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It’s a constant struggle. It’s a constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice. Against those who traffic in racism, extremism and insurrection,” Biden said.