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The eldest daughter of Rev Dr Martin Luther King, social worker Yolanda King tells Swati Sucharita about how she’s working to realise her father’s dream

he was barely 13 when her mother, Coretta Scott King, founded the Martin Luther King Jr Centre for Non-violent Social Change in 1968, in her slain husband’s memory.

For Yolanda King, the eldest born of the slain martyr Rev Dr Martin Luther King, “Non-violence is more than just a tactic, it is a philosophy of life; it is absolutely the only way for human beings to relate. I strongly believe that when we hurt somebody, we are hurting ourselves.”

An Indian At Heart
In India recently to attend Mata Amritanandamayis’ 50th birthday celebrations, Yolanda says she grew up seeing Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait in their house. “My father was strongly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. We learnt about his struggle and read his books. Whenever I come to India, I feel an enormous connection with this country, I feel like a part of the Indian people because of what Gandhi meant to us,” she says.

Well that’s not the only Indian fixation she has. With her signature flamboyant dressing style, Yolanda is very fond of Indian clothes, “I have got a couple of Indian ‘salwar’ suits stitched this time. I can never get over the way the Indian woman handles her sari; she makes those layers of fabric swathed around her body look so gracious and easy on the eye,” she says and shyly confesses that she wants to learn how to wear one.

Promoting Non-Violence
Director of the Martin Luther King Jr Centre for Non-violent Social Change (celebrities like singer Harry Belafonte are other members on the board), Yolanda says she still draws inspiration from her father’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

“The reality is no different than it was in 1964. The things my father said then hold just as true today. He said, ‘Although we have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the seas like fish, we still have not learnt the simple art of living together as brothers (and sisters)’”.

Clearly passionate about her work, Yolanda dreams of a world at peace, a world that is not hungry for blood, a world where violence is a thing of the past. The difference is, these are not just dreams, she’s working tirelessly to get there.

“At the centre, the focus is on Kingian non-violence, and we have educational programmes with community leaders, police and prison officials, teachers and also run curricula in schools,” she says.

Awareness Through Acting
Yolanda’s oratory skills are often compared with that of her father’s. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she graduated with honours in Theatre and African-American Studies from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

She moved on to New York to do her MFA in theatre at New York University, and directed and performed in productions in New York and the Tri-State area. Yolanda’s theatre and film portrayals, like that of spunky black leader Rosa Parks in the NBC-TV movie ‘King’ and Dr Betty Shabazz in ‘Death Of A Prophet’ with Morgan Freeman, reflect her commitment to social change. Recently, she did a pro-active one-woman theatre production, ‘Achieving The Dream’ that brings to life the civil rights movement and its lessons for today.

Striving For Change
Besides being founding director of the King Center’s Cultural Affairs Program, Yolanda serves on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, and is a sponsor of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

“The world would be very different, if more women were at the helm of affairs. There would be fewer wars and less destruction to begin with, because intrinsically women stand for creation, for nurturing. Look at Amma (Ma Anandamayi), she is full of compassion and love and forgiveness, she inspires so many others with the brilliance of her being.“

Women At The Helm
But Yolanda knows that gender bias is still a big obstacle to women discovering the incredible powers within themselves. She says, “In the US, it may not be as pervasive, like it is in India, but it still exists. Look at the US Government; barely two per cent of women are involved in decision-making. We have to strategically change this so that there are more women in decision-making at the top. And not just in the US or in India — there should be a change all over the world. Women need to value themselves in the first place, because as women, the universal attitude has always been to accept being in the back seat. That needs to change.”

Well, with Yolanda in the driver’s seat, the road to a better future doesn’t seem that tough now, does it?

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