Martin Luther King, III and Arndrea Waters King Statement on Black History Month
Today, Martin Luther King III, Chairman of Drum Majors for Change, and Arndrea Waters King, President of Drum Majors for Change released the following statement on Black History Month:
Martin Luther King III said:
“We celebrate Black History Month this year at a time when our democracy is under attack and our children are being denied the knowledge of how far we have come as a nation. Make no mistake – we are the history makers now, and how we meet this moment will define our country for generations to come. Congress has an obligation to the Black and Brown Americans who put them in office to restore the Voting Rights Act which is under attack. This Black History Month, just as we did on my father’s, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, birthday, we can truly honor those that came before us by standing up to protect the right to vote for every man, woman, and child in this country. We, along with more than 180 partner organizations from across America, are demanding action, and we will not stop. Black History Month gives us the opportunity to remember those that fought the same fights decades ago. Let our story be as successful as theirs was, as hard fought as it may be.”
Arndrea Waters King said:
“This Black History Month, as I reflect on the men and women who fought for the rights of Black and Brown Americans before my time, I am deeply troubled at what we are seeing across this country, but hopeful we will find a path forward because we must. Just last month, Congress failed to deliver on a commitment to protect our right to vote, which is needlessly under attack. To make matters worse, the very idea of Black history is being stripped away in our classrooms. Why are we trying to make their narrative our definition of what equity in American truly is? Why are we allowing them to perpetuate the “Big Lie” as justification for making it harder for Black and Brown Americans to vote? And just as important, why are we allowing the very people we sent to Congress to keep in place the filibuster, a Jim Crow-era procedural move that has been used to block anti-slavery legislation, civil rights legislation, and voting rights legislation? It has become a weapon against progress and against Black people, so before anyone stands up to celebrate Black History Month, I encourage all of our elected officials to take stock of where we are as a country and what we can do to empower Black and Brown Americans for the future.”
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