Friend,

Today, as we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., we’re reminded that progress requires persistence — which is why your enduring support is so important, friend.

The Civil Rights Movement that King fearlessly championed didn’t happen over days or weeks — it lasted years — and the work is far from over. As we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy, remember that it is our shared vision for a world where justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream, that gives our mission its power.

In anticipation of the 43rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Southern Poverty Law Center investigative reporter Caitlin Cruz interviewed King’s daughter Bernice A. King, who continues to carry on her father’s work. We’re so grateful to be able to share this powerful conversation with you.

Bernice King sat down with us to share her thoughts about defending her parents’ legacy, the role that faith and soul play in her life’s work for nonviolent resistance and how she’s carved out her own identity.

“It’s gotten to the place now where it’s kind of second nature,” King said. “I was obviously born into this and raised in it. And I don’t know any other life.”

“I don’t know how to wake up and not be the daughter of these great people because what they lived and what they taught is so essential.” — Bernice King

Bernice’s words continue to shape the work that all of us — people who share a moral compass that drives us to seek civil and human rights for all — carry out in the pursuit of justice.

Together, we continue to carry out the legacy that the marchers of the Civil Rights Movement envisioned — by standing up to those trying to silence people of color, immigrants, Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, LGBTQ+ communities and those relegated to poverty and incarceration by a broken system.

Thank you for being a force for justice.

— Team SPLC