Dr. Alveda King: ‘How can the dream survive if we take the lives of our own children?’

By KELLY TSHIBAKA

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had one of the largest impacts on civil rights activism and racial equality ever seen in America. His iconic I Have A Dream speech still beats true in the heart of America, yet we are witnessing race relations devolve in our generation.  

How can we possibly get back on course with MLK’s dream? How do we know if we are, in fact, following the path to peace that he and so many other Civil Rights activists laid out for us? The most recent episode of STAND with Kelly and Niki Tshibaka may hold the answers. This past week, STAND hosted Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., who provided valuable insights into the civil rights movement.

Dr. King began by telling the Tshibakas about the most effective way to repair race relations—and it does not lie in the violent actions we often see happening today. “A lot of times when you see these riots, and fire bombs and people throwing bricks through cars, it’s not the residents or the people who live there, but people who come from other places and communities to stir up agitation.” 

She used a personal anecdote as an example. After her family home was bombed in her childhood, her father told the community to return home, and not to lash out in violence. Dr. King explained that those who chose to respond by rioting were not comprised of members of her community. This behavior, in fact, directly contradicted the recommendations of MLK and her father, Reverend A.D. King, who encouraged their followers to behave peacefully in the wake of racial upset.

Dr. King also had many things to say about how abortion and Critical Race Theory (CRT) do not build up the Black community. “There’s so much that’s connected to marketing to the Black community as a part of eliminating and lowering the numbers of our community,” Dr. King said. “There was such a marketing campaign telling Black people that they were a ‘credit to their race’ if they didn’t have so many babies.”

She went on to tell of the history of Planned Parenthood, detailing its roots in the Tuskegee Project and the Negro Project, a eugenics movement led by Margaret Sanger. “How can the dream survive if we take the lives of our own children?” Dr. King demanded to know.

She also discussed how CRT is harmful to the Black community due to its racist history. “Let’s talk about critical race theory being socialist and Marxist, having been created by people who thought there was a superior race based on blonde hair and blue eyes. Socialism and Marxism is not fair and is not just, and Critical Race Theory was birthed out of that philosophy.” 

Although MLK’s dream is not dead in America, it has been significantly marred and trampled by false narratives that threaten to keep the Black community down. We must, as a nation, lead a return to the truth, acknowledging all aspects of history, rather than the parts we deem convenient. 

“One of the most impressive things he [MLK] said to me is that ‘I have a dream that one day there will be no black power, no white power. Only God’s power and human power.’” Dr. King recalled.

“If we do not proclaim truth in every generation, every decade and on every platform, people forget,” Dr King warned, “It is our responsibility in every generation, every decade, every platform, to proclaim truth and to explain truth.”

If you want to hear more about Dr. Alveda King’s childhood, pro-life work, and civil rights activism, view the newest episode of STAND. You can also find the episode on YouTube, Rumble, and your podcast streaming platform.

Kelly Tshibaka is the host of the podcast, TV, and radio show STAND, and the 2022 Alaska Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. She co-hosts the show with her husband, Niki Tshibaka.