King’s daughter calls for justice, nonviolence; Scattered protests over black deaths by police

Published 10:36 am Tuesday, January 20, 2015

ATLANTA — The daughter of the slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. exhorted the nation on King’s federal holiday to act out against injustice but to heed her father’s message of nonviolence.

The call Monday came amid a day of scattered protests over recent police deaths of unarmed black men that have shaken the U.S.

The Rev. Bernice King told those crowded into Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, King’s spiritual home, much has been done to end injustice but much remains to fulfill her father’s dream.

Email newsletter signup

“I challenge you to work with us as we help this nation choose nonviolence,” Bernice King told those gathered Monday at the main King tribute in Atlanta, where she urged a new generation to take up the courage and activism exhibited by those who struggled to oppose racial discrimination half a century ago.

This year’s annual holiday followed recent national protests and debate over the deaths of unarmed black men and youths at the hands of white police officers around the country.

Some new protests flared Monday such as one in which several dozen demonstrators blocked traffic on a march in Cleveland, Ohio. Dozens of other protesters were detained after blocking a bridge in San Mateo, California, authorities said. Protests also were reported in Missouri and Washington state amid tributes, speeches and volunteer service events around the nation in communities large and small.

“We cannot act unless we understand what Dr. King taught us. He taught us that we still have a choice to make: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation,” King’s daughter said as she made reference to the high-profile deaths.

“I cannot help but remember many women and men who have been gunned down, not by a bad police force but by some bad actors in a police force,” she said.

Protesters in California, many of them students at Stanford University, blocked the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge forcing westbound lanes to close for more than an hour Monday night, authorities said. The California Highway Patrol said numerous protesters were in custody and dozens could be seen being loaded into vans and taken off the bridge.