“Today is Martin Luther King Day. In his honor, we will work together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream become reality. ” With these words, during the presidential inauguration speech pronounced on January 20, Donald Trump referred to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. Words, which have scandalized those who, still today, persist in accusing the American president of “racism”. In reality, the situation is very different. It is no coincidence that, in the last presidential elections, Trump has gained significantly soil among Hispanic and African American voters. It is therefore also to overturn a certain simplistic narrative that The truth Martin Luther King, Alveda Celeste King, interviewed exclusively.
The daughter of Ad King (the younger brother of the reverend), Alveda carries on the memory of the uncle, murdered on April 4, 1968. And, at the same time, he is a fervent supporter, as well as personal friend, of Trump: he in fact supported him in 2016 , in 2020 and also last year, when, in coordination with the president’s campaign, he joined the “Black American for Trump” coalition. Not only that. Pro Life activist, Alveda is the president of the Center for the American Dream at the America First Policy Institute: Think Tank very close to the current American president, from which various exponents of his administration come. All this, without forgetting that, in 2018, Trump appointed it from Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission. Last week, shortly after the president had signed an executive order to establish the White House Faith Office, Alveda was in West Wing, for an event of prayer held within the Roosevelt Room. In the telephone interview that The truth He had with her, King’s nephew explained how he sees the current tenant of the White House, also speaking of the Christian roots that were the basis of the civil rights movement, conducted by his uncle.
Can Alveda King explain to me how important the Christian dimension was in the battle carried forward by his uncle for civil rights?
“I was born in a Christian family on January 22, 1951. My grandfather, the reverend Martin Luther King Senior, was a preacher. My father, in King, was a preacher, just as my famous uncle was, Martin Luther King Jr. All of them were what we call today as ‘pro life’. They believed in the holiness of human life from conception to death and beyond. So I believe that, if my uncle – the reverend Martin Luther King Jr – was here today, would agree that we, as human beings, should live together as brothers and sisters “.
The American progressive world has been carrying out what has been called the ‘Critical Race Theory’ for some years, a set of sociological theories that would like to reinterpret history on the basis of racial oppression. In addition, the American left also focuses a lot on ‘identity politics’. What do you think of all this?
“The Critical Race Theory is wrong. It is wrong because there is only a human race. There is a single blood and a single human breed. There are no separate races. If we consider ethnicity and the place of the world in which We were born, there are very special gifts and talents that come from every ethnic community. of character, not the color of our skin (Reference to the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech: ‘I have a dream, that my four young children will live one day in a nation in which they will not be judged for the color of their skin, but for the qualities of their character’, editor’s note).
In Italy, there are journalists and politicians who note the president Trump to be a racist. She supported him in 2016, in 2020 and also last year. What do you think of these accusations?
“President Trump believes in human dignity and believes in help to every ethnic community. I know this. And he himself shows it with many of the programs he supports “.
Trump recently declassified the latest documents relating to the assassination of Martin Luther King. What do you think of this provision?
“The documents made public concern the death of President John Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King. Each president from their death had promised to release those documents. Nobody did it. President Trump had promised that he would make those cards public. And he did it. There will be a lot of information in these documents. We will discover that, for political reasons, many things that have been said were not true “.
What were his thoughts when Trump was hit in Butler last July?
“When President Trump was hit, my heart broke. I cried. I was very sad for what had happened. I am happy that it was not killed. I think he was given the opportunity to return. And I thank God for his life. He has now promised to pray, to pray together with others and to make America again devoted (Make America Godly Again, editor’s note) “.
In your opinion, why does the Democratic Party, in the last presidential elections, lost votes between African Americans and Hispanic?
“I believe that the American people are understanding that we need God. And that, without God, we will not go to anyone.”
(Interview published on La Verità on February 12, 2025)
