Summary

Monday has been a day to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and also a day of calls to action on voting rights. Demonstrators marched through streets in Washington in support of voting legislation now stalled in the U.S. Senate, and Vice President Harris warned the freedom to vote is under assault. Judy Woodruff discusses the day with the King Jr.'s son, Martin Luther King III.

Five Facts

• Who is interviewed in this piece, and what is his relationship to Martin Luther King, Jr.?


• What is special about this year, according to Martin Luther King III?


• Why is new voting rights legislation so critical right now, according to Martin Luther King III?


• How would Martin Luther King, Jr. have thought about the current state of voting rights according to his son?


• What did King have to say about the filibuster, the rule that effectively makes laws un-passable in the Senate without an extraordinary super-majority of votes?

Focus Questions

Why do you think problems with U.S. elections identified by MLK over 50 years ago still persist today? What obstacles do you think could be removed to make voting more fair? Media literacy: What value do you think there is in interviewing a child of Martin Luther King about voting rights? What special insights do you think Martin Luther King III brings?

For More

Check out our collection of Martin Luther King Jr. Day lessons and activities here .

 

Martin Luther King Jr., gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd before the Lincoln Memorial during the Freedom March in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. The widely quoted speech became one of his most famous.

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TRANSCRIPT