Dr. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is expressing dismay over the publication of an image mentioning her father in relation to the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
The image was posted by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and depicted Charlie Kirk, alongside MLK, Jesus, and former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy with the headline: “All Because of Words.”
“There are so many things wrong with this. So many. I get tired, y’all,” Dr. King wrote on X in response to Rep. Luna’s post.
Dr. Bernice King was one of the first civil rights leaders to condemn the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, expressing empathy for Kirk’s children and wife.
She was just 5 years old when her father, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. Dr. Martin Luther King had been in town to support sanitation workers who were striking to get better working conditions and become unionized.
“It saddens me that Charlie Kirk’s children will likely one day view the video of their father being shot. No child anywhere should lose a parent in such a hateful, callous way,” King wrote in a statement.
“It will require much more than quoting my father for the United States to evolve from our current conundrum of multi-faceted violence, tragic apathy, and degrading policies.”
Kirk, the founder of the influential conservative group TurningPoint USA, had been at Utah Valley University to speak to a crowd of 3,000, engaging in debate about a range of topics, including gun violence up until the moment of his murder.
In December 2023, Kirk was quoted as saying in response to a question about Title IX, “Actually MLK was awful. OK? He’s not a good person. He said one good thing he actually didn’t believe.”
Although Kirk had previously described MLK as “a hero and a civil rights icon,” he explained on an episode of his show that his views had shifted: “I used to be wrong.” Kirk argued that the Civil Rights Act had contributed to the building of a racialized bureaucracy.
Dr. King did not respond to Kirk’s past critiques of her father as she condemned his killing, but pleaded for non-violence in the aftermath.
“We need mature leadership, compassionate action, and nonviolent strategies for thorough, sustainable change,” she wrote.
“True peace, which, as my father said, ‘is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.’”
Dr. King has previously condemned the use of her father’s image in AI-generated or illustrated graphics, such as in January, when rapper Sexxy Redd posted an image of herself pressed face-to-face with MLK in the club.
“Distasteful…dishonoring,” Dr. King wrote in response, eliciting a quick apology from Sexxy Redd, who wrote, “You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just [reposted] something I saw that I thought was innocent.”
Dr. King gracefully accepted the apology, stating, “I earnestly wish that people would imagine what it would feel like to see their deceased, murdered father repurposed for party fliers, unjust legislation, etc. All the best to you, young lady.”
In response to Dr. King’s post about exhaustion over the newest illustration with her father’s image, the civil rights leader received an flood of reactions from both supporters, as well as critics.
“I don’t even know how you begin to understand- rationalize the feelings that she would probably be feeling with that image! My goodness I am sorry,” wrote user @Kerridwen on X.
