Bernice King Pushes Back on Meme After Kirk’s Death
Dr. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., criticized a viral image posted by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna that placed her father next to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, along with Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy. The graphic carried the headline: “All Because of Words.”
“There are so many things wrong with this. So many. I get tired, y’all,” King wrote on X, making clear her disapproval.
Condemning Charlie Kirk’s Killing While Calling for Peace
Bernice King was among the first civil rights leaders to denounce the assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot on September 10 while addressing 3,000 people at Utah Valley University.
“It saddens me that Charlie Kirk’s children will likely one day view the video of their father being shot. No child anywhere should lose a parent in such a hateful, callous way,” King said in a statement.
On Instagram, she added: “It will require much more than quoting my father for the United States to evolve from our current conundrum of multi-faceted violence, tragic apathy, and degrading policies.”
MLK’s Children Call for Nonviolence and Justice
Bernice King urged Americans to confront the nation’s entrenched violence:
“We need mature leadership, compassionate action, and nonviolent strategies for thorough, sustainable change. We need inner work, community work, communication work, legislative work, home work. We need to stop the lie of ‘There’s no place for _____________ violence in this country.’ Because, clearly, there is a place. Historically and presently, this nation has been a place for policy violence, mass violence, genocidal violence, gun violence, economic violence, and other forms of violence.”
Her brother, Martin Luther King III, issued a similar call on X: “Violence, no matter the target or justification, is never the answer. The shooting of Charlie Kirk is not only a tragedy for one man—it is a wound to the soul of our nation. It may silence a voice, but it cannot change a heart or heal a nation.”
Political Violence at the Center of National Debate
Kirk’s death has amplified the nation’s political divide. Some grieved his loss as that of a hero, while others pointed to his controversial positions on gun violence, women’s rights, and civil rights history.
The timing also deepened its resonance: Kirk was killed a day after the country marked the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Bernice King linked the tragedy to wider patterns of violence across the globe and at home, from Sudan and Gaza to Black communities in Memphis facing environmental injustice.
“And, so, here we are,” she wrote. “A day after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. 24 years after 9/11. A day when people across the globe… suffer the devastation of political violence. A day when the National Guard patrols the streets of D.C. A day… to more urgently begin praying with our actions and with our collective call and work for true peace, which, as my father said, ‘is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.’”
Kirk Disparaging MLK
In December 2023, Kirk described MLK as “awful,” saying, “He’s not a good person. He said one good thing he actually didn’t believe.” While Kirk had previously praised King as a “hero and a civil rights icon,” he later claimed the Civil Rights Act fueled a “racialized bureaucracy.”
Bernice King did not engage those remarks directly, instead focusing on nonviolence and the toll political violence exacts on families.
Misuse of MLK’s Image Remains a Point of Tension
This latest controversy follows Bernice King’s repeated objections to the use of her father’s likeness in memes, AI-generated images, and political graphics. Earlier this year, she rebuked rapper Sexyy Redd for reposting a graphic of MLK in a nightclub, calling it “dishonoring.”
Her fatigue was evident in her response to Luna’s post: “I get tired, y’all.” The reaction again underscored the strain of watching her father’s legacy co-opted for agendas disconnected from his teachings.
