As the oldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III is a thought leader on the world stage, a peace maker, and a negotiator on some of today’s most critical national and international platforms for social change. Amplifying the work of his father, King has devoted his life to promoting global human rights and eradicating racism, violence, and poverty. A global humanitarian, King is connecting the important lessons of our past with the critical needs of our future and motivating a new generation of authentic leaders.
Having been arrested in peaceful protests more than a dozen times, King’s actions demonstrate his commitment to serving as an ambassador of social change. He is an experienced and respected international statesman, who has consulted with numerous heads of state and governments. His dedication to implementing strategic, non-violent solutions to stop the rise of social, political, and economic injustice has built his reputation as one of the world’s most passionate advocates for the poor and oppressed.
With the past year’s astounding display of social injustice and violence, perhaps at no other time in recent history has our world needed the clear thinking and solutions-oriented voice of King. In August 2020, on the anniversary of his father’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech and in response to the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, King addressed thousands from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” March On Washington, urging the people who had traveled from across the country to continue Martin Luther King Jr.’s pursuit of racial equality.
In August 2021, the 58th anniversary of that same speech, King, his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, were the face of a national movement to demand federal action on voting rights legislation — leading marches across the country, including Washington, DC. In January 2022, building on the powerful slate of grassroots partners, King and Waters King took to the streets of Washington, once again, to call on Congress to act to protect the sacred right to vote, joining with nearly 100 partner organizations and members of the faith-based community.
In his trademark logical approach to problem-solving, King raises the public discourse on social issues and challenges us all to do better. Most recently, he and Waters King took over leadership of the Drum Major Institute, which is dedicated to advancing the core mission and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With a focus on continuing the King legacy through education, action, engagement with world leaders, and collaboration with socially conscious organizations, the work of the Drum Major Institute inspires individual to embrace their unique contribution to peace, justice, and equity for all through common-sense solutions to our most pressing problems.