Martin Luther King III is officially throwing his support behind Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) ahead of the contested Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary next month.
King, the son of the civil rights icon, said Kennedy would fight for racial justice.
“My father said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” King said in a video released by Kennedy’s campaign on Friday.
Kennedy is the grandson of former Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), who played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement, working with King Jr. in the 1960s.
He is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in Massachusett’s Democratic Senate primary, which has split Democrats in the Bay State and on Capitol Hill.
The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Kennedy up 5 points in the race. Kennedy and Markey will face off on Sept. 1.
“I know he [Kennedy] will never stop demanding justice. He is a leader we so desperately need in this moment to bring us to a higher moral ground,” King said. “It’s clear to me that Joe Kennedy stands with all of us. That’s why we need him in the United States Senate.”
King’s endorsement comes amid nationwide protests and discussions on racial injustice, spurred in part by the police killings of unarmed Black individuals including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“We need a new generation of civil rights leaders that will fight for racial justice and equality in all its forms,” King said in the video.