Yolanda Renee King channeled her grandfather’s famous words at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., with the 9-year-old descendent of Martin Luther King, Jr. saying, “I have a dream that enough is enough.”
As USA Today noted, the eldest granddaughter of MLK was one of dozens of young activists taking part in the nationwide rally in favor of stricter gun control, and generated nationwide attention for her powerful words. In her speech before the more than 800,000 people in attendance, King echoed a continuation of MLK’s famous speech in the nation’s capital 55 years ago this summer.
“My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character,” King said. “I have a dream that enough is enough and this should be a gun free world, period.”
As CNN reported, at the conclusion of her speech, Yolanda Renee King led the crowd in a chant of: “Spread the word! Have you heard? All across the nation, we are going to be a great generation!”
Speaking to CNN after her speech, Yolanda Renee King said she has grown tired of lockdown drills in her 4th grade classroom in preparation for a potential school shooting.
Video of Yolanda Renee King’s speech spread quickly across social media, with her words marking some of the most poignant in a day that included other speeches from survivors of the Parkland school shooting, and other mass shootings, including the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.
55 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech
Today, his granddaughter Yolanda King gave the equivalent of a “We Have A Dream” speech
“We…are going to be…a great generation!” #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/AyborpxSmG
— rantt (@ranttmedia) March 24, 2018
“I have a dream that enough is enough.” -Yolanda King, 9, MLK’s granddaughter #NeverAgain #MarchForOurLives https://t.co/duNIaXwb8d
— Metiza Magazine (@metizamag) March 24, 2018
While much of the focus of March for Our Lives was on the high-profile school shootings, others spoke out about the more random acts of violence faced by inner-city students. One of those was Christopher Underwood, an 11-year-old, who lost his brother to a shooting nearly six years ago.
“For me, I would like to not worry about dying, and focus on math and science and playing basketball with my friends. Don’t I deserve to grow up?” 11-year-old Christopher Underwood who lost his brother to gun violence at age 5 #MarchForOurLives #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/v4dtIWSfVG
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 24, 2018
The marches on Saturday drew more than 1 million people nationally and earned support from a number of politicians, including Barack and Michelle Obama , who tweeted their support of the marchers on Saturday afternoon. Former president Bill Clinton had also expressed support, as had dozens of other politicians, celebrities, and athletes.
The survivors of last month’s school shooting were at the forefront of many of the protests, speaking at several rallies and leading organization efforts in the weeks leading up to the events. As Yolanda Renee King delivered her speech, she stood hand-in-hand with Jaclyn Corin, a survivor of last month’s school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School.
