Alveda King

Dr. Alveda C. Kingis the daughter of the late civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and his wife Naomi Barber King. Rev. King was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s brother. She is author of the book King Rules: Ten Truths for You, Your Family, and Our Nation to Prosper.As a Christian minister, Dr. Alveda says she has devoted her life “towards glorifying God in the earth…” Currently, she serves as Director of African American Outreach for Gospel of Life ministries. She has served on the boards and committees of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Coalition of African American Pastors, the Judeo-Christian Coalition for Constitutional Restoration, and others. She consults with the Africa Humanitarian Christian Fellowship, founded by her mentor, Pastor Allen McNair of Believers' Bible Christian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Alveda describes herself as “the grateful mother of six children and a doting grandmother.”She has also served in the Georgia State House of Representatives, and is an accomplished actress and songwriter.

As a child Dr. Alveda was at the epicenter of the fight for civil rights. Both her home and her father’s church were bombed. A year after Martin Luther King was assassinated, her father drowned in the family swimming pool. His wife said, “There is no doubt in my mind that the system killed my husband.”

Accuracy in Media: From a bystander’s view, the black community’s reactions in the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and other similar cases seem to be impulsive, often racist, sometimes violent and frequently do not square with the facts. Do they have a point?

Dr. Alveda King: Bystanders did not experience the racism of the segregation period. The Ferguson protestors do have a point, but violence is never necessary. To fix these problems—both of perception and reality—we need to work together on conflict resolution, guided by God’s love, not war.

AIM: Do you believe race relations have gotten better or worse since the Civil Rights Act was enacted?

Dr. King: I was alive during that period and experienced the racism and violence firsthand. I lived through the bombing of my family’s home and my father’s church, where one little girl, a classmate of mine, was killed. I lived through separate lunch counters, drinking fountains and going to the back of the bus. That does not exist any more. We have come a long way. We are headed in the right direction, but we still need improvement.

AIM: What can we do to resolve these problems?

Dr. King: There is still not enough equal access, but don’t misunderstand me. I mean this in the sense Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of. We must learn to judge a man by the content of his character not the color of his skin. Therefore, we should not be using quotas, affirmative action and other measures. These actually separate us. We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, as people, not categories not races. We are all human, and all human beings deserve our respect and love.

AIM: Why is there so much crime in the black community? Why do you think blacks are disproportionately represented in the prison population? What should be done?

Dr. King: These are systemic issues we need to address. We are beset by poverty, war, hunger and sickness. People must address these issues individually. We need to reintroduce a culture and mindset of personal accountability—that is, personal accountability and responsibility, not entitlement. Starting with the individual, this sense of personal accountability and responsibility must then be applied to family, then church, then board rooms, then government.

…Michael Brown’s case is but one piece of the huge problem. It has been reduced to a mindset of color, culture and class. There is a devaluation of human life from womb to tomb. We need to restore our belief in the sanctity of human life. That begins with conception and should follow us through life. Our culture has cheapened and demeaned life. The violence, shootings and death are natural consequences of our separation from God.

AIM: The things you experienced as a child are part of racism’s legacy in the U.S. On the other hand, in more recent years, black crimes, flash mobs and the like are spinning out of control. Meanwhile our silence encourages race hustlers like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan to endlessly agitate and enflame racial tension. They are aided in this effort by a news media that constantly pounds away at the “racist America” narrative. How do we bridge the divide, when so many people seem to have their minds made up?

Dr. King: As New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson said in response to the professional racial grievance industry profiteers who are exploiting the rioting, looting, and anarchy in Ferguson and around the country, “We don’t have a skin problem. We have a sin problem.”

AIM: Amen! Thank you for your time, Dr. King.

Dr. King: You are quite welcome.