Faith, Hope and the American Dream: MLK’s Niece Shares Her Dream
By Movieguide® Staff
Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King, spoke with Movieguide® about the American dream, how her faith informs her politics and why she has hope.
“My dream is very consistent with what Uncle ML [Martin Luther King Jr.] talked about the American dream,” she tells Movieguide®. “And he says, ‘I have a dream is rooted in the American dream.’ I am an American. And so I pray for myself, my family, my community, people at church, people that I work with, people in this nation, and then the whole world, that people will come to know the goodness of God.”
For King, part of that dream means using her gifts to help people discover their God-given design.
“So it’s part of my life as a Christian evangelist, and I write music, I sing, I produce, I do policy work. I’ve been elected to office. I’ve been appointed by two presidents. I’ve done many things—college professor—you name it. People say, ‘What can’t you do? What is it that you don’t do?’ Well, I don’t do math. Well, I’m terrible. I’m terrible at farming, gardening, all of that. But my dream is that people live out the life that God designed for them.”
King understands that discovering God’s design begins by emphasizing the value and dignity of every life.
“What is the American dream? What does it mean to you? Who are you? What is your dream? What is your vision? What do you want to accomplish in your life? And so if we can see every person as valuable from the womb to the tomb and beyond,” King explained. “But there has to be value and all those years, from the very beginning until we move on beyond. So seeing human beings as valuable, as wanted, as loved and as needed. That’s very important.”
While many view the pro-life position as a purely political question, King has grounded her beliefs in her faith before she aligns with a certain party or group.
“I don’t worship politics. I worship God Almighty,” she told Movieguide®. She explained that, as Christians, we don’t want to be “labeled” or put in a “box.”
“As a Christian, that’s a wonderful position in my life,” she continued. “So if there’s opportunity for everybody in life, regardless of politics, or other differences. We’re one blood, one human race. We’re not separate races. We’re one blood, we’re one race. So we keep living and loving and trusting God. And that’s even my position on politics. Politics is way down here, though. It’s important: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Vote, please vote according to the Bible, but don’t get in arguments with people about it.”
King recognizes the darkness in the world. But she says God gives her hope.
“God gives me hope in so many ways,” she said. “It’s wintertime now. And when I look around me, the trees appear to be bare. I know as long as I’m breathing, and God is still breathing on the earth, into the earth, breathing thing live to us, I’ll see some little buds come forward.”
“That’s the way life is. In the midst of darkness, light will shine if we just seek that light,” King concluded.
Check out Movieguide®’s full interview with King here: