FORT WAYNE – Alveda King wants the world to remember her uncle, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., not only as an accomplished leader but also as a great family man.
Her favorite memory of her uncle is of him kissing her on the cheek as a young girl, telling her that one day there would be so many boys around her that he’d have to chase them all away.
He was a great mentor, too, she said, teaching her that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
King, a Christian minister, author and anti-abortion rights activist, visited several schools Wednesday to talk mainly about her family’s role in the civil rights struggle.
“Martin Luther King was a preacher and a soldier,” she said during a presentation at Canterbury Middle School. “He was a warrior.”
King shared memories of her family, including her father, the late Rev. A.D. William King Sr., also a civil rights activist. She also spoke about her own involvement in the civil rights movement, including time she’d spent in jail after a protest, and the experience of having her home bombed in Birmingham, Ala.
She said she loved shooting pool with her uncle and recalled his fondness for fried chicken and sweet potato pie.
“I thought it was really cool how she knew him so well and was so close to him,” said Canterbury student Jiya Kashyap, 12.
Her friend, Samantha McAllister, added that “It’s one thing to read about these things in books. It’s another to hear it from a real person.”
King’s visit to Canterbury, New Haven High School, Concordia High School and IPFW were organized by the Urban Outreach Task Force, a local group that opposes abortion rights.