See below for video of Virginia Del. Candi King (D-HD2), speaking today on the floor of the House of Delegates about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated 54 years ago, on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. As Del. King stated:
“For many of us, today is a day that greets us with sadness and grief…on April 4 at 6:05 pm…the leader and visionary, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was taken from us. Fifty-four years later, we come to this moment to honor his legacy and impact that could not be silenced by a bullet. While his mortal body was taken from us on April 4, it did not rob his soul or his legacy. Today, we celebrate the life of a man who boldly fought for equity, equality, and the progression of marginalized communities. The power of his words and acts of non-violent resistance are as needed and impactful today as they were many years ago…Dr. King had a profound impact on our society, and accomplished what many viewed at the time as impossible. During these turbulent times, his legacy serves to remind us that moral progress is only made possible by those who continue to fight…
For me…I often ask myself, why does the death of someone who was murdered…many years before I was even born, why does it hurt so much? And the answer is pretty simple: it’s because we mourn all that could have been. Had Dr. King not been taken from us by white supremacy, would it have taken another 40 years before we inaugurated our first Black president? Would it have taken 50 years to inaugurate the first Black woman as Vice President? And would we take this long to see a Black woman ascend to our highest court?…
And the current social climate requires that we stay committed to his mission. While we have a come a long way since his assassination, it is more than evident that there is still more work today. We’ve seen monumental advancements in addressing racial injustice, but we see it every day in the coded language, in the use of his image, in the attempt to try to undermine racial progress. We see that his life and legacy is needed now more than ever. I hope that as we remember him today, it will ignite in us to continue the fight for justice, for equality and we will honor him by speaking truth – bold truth and inconvenient truth. And that we’ll remember his words when we get down, when we get sad, when we are grieved by what we see in the political and public space today…As Dr. King said, we WILL get to the promised land some day.”
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