MLK's 12-year-old granddaughter called for 'genuine equality' on the anniversary of the 'I Have a Dream' speech
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Over 50 years after her grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr., gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, 12-year-old Yolanda Renee King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and called for racial equality.
"The first phase was civil rights, and the new phase is genuine equality," King said.
She called on fellow Gen Z-ers to push for change: "We will be the generation that moves from 'me' to 'we,'" she said.
Yolanda Renee King followed in her grandfather's footsteps on Friday, speaking at the Lincoln Memorial where 57 years earlier Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
"The first phase was civil rights, and the new phase is genuine equality," the 12-year-old said on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
She addressed Gen Z-ers, urging them to continue to fight for change.
"My generation has already taken to the streets peacefully and with masks and socially distant to protest racism," King said.
The peaceful march comes a few days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake prompted protests nationwide.
Rev. Al Sharpton, the founder of the National Action Network and one of the march's organizers, told the Associated Press that the event's "objective is to put on one platform, in the shadow of Abe Lincoln, the families of people that ... have lost loved ones in unchecked racial bias."
Speaking at the National Mall, Yolanda Renee King also called for action to address climate change and systemic racism.
"We have mastered the selfie and TikTok. Now we must master ourselves," King said. "We will be the generation that moves from 'me' to 'we.'"
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