Martin Luther King III on fatherhood, legacy and letting Yolanda King find her own path
At the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta, the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is on full display, indicating his impact stretched beyond city limits, beyond national borders and into a global class of changemakers.
Enlarged fragments of King’s speeches welcome a family of three as they walk past the entrance. Their bond is evident. A mother donning a coral wrap dress leads the procession, and a protective father closes their unit, together guarding their daughter in the center.
Their daughter is 18-year-old Yolanda Renee King, the only grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
Today, Yolanda’s wearing black, patent-leather shoes. She’s been getting into flats lately, but the pointed pair with silver buckles from Steve Madden have an extra edginess to them, she says. Her mother, Arndrea Waters King, who always wears heels, jokes that her daughter can afford wearing flats with her height.
“She’s the tallest one — almost,” Arndrea said.
Meanwhile, Martin Luther King III — Yolanda’s father and the oldest son of Coretta and Martin Jr. — smiles in admiration at the two women. They’ve completely taken the spotlight.
But he is used to women being in the lead.
Martin III is accustomed to sharing his family’s history with the world. He and his three siblings grew up without their father, who was assassinated in 1968. Martin III was only 10 years old at the time.
He still carries lessons from his mother, the anchor who became the family’s primary parent.
Martin III remembers what it was like to not have a father later in his life. He noted how having both parents present is a blessing for children.
He believes it’s important to have both a mother and father in a child’s life; otherwise, the family’s village needs to step up.
“There’s one set of things as a male I will bring. There’s a totally, tremendously different set of things that a mom brings,” Martin III said. “I just feel so grateful and thankful to God to be able to have our unit and our child, who is just incredible, absolutely amazing.”
Martin III relied on the teachings of his mother with Yolanda. After the death of his father, he said his mother “liberated” him from societal obligations that may have pressured him to follow his dad’s footsteps.
“That’s kind of what (Arndrea and I) attempted to do with Yolanda: whatever it is that you want to do, we want you to,” he said.
He commended Arndrea’s maternal skills, adding how much she reminded him of his own mother. He appreciated how Arndrea and Coretta had their own bond.
Though Martin travels often for work, Arndrea praised him for being immensely active in Yolanda’s childhood — even to the point of being a driver in the parent carpool rotation at Yolanda’s school.
“We don’t outsource parenting,” Arndrea said.
Martin said making children the parents’ priority should not be an option, but the standard.
“It’s important for us to be present, to be engaged,” Martin said.
“This is what we’re supposed to do as a parent,” he said. “If you don’t do these things, maybe you should talk about not being a parent. But now that you are, you must rise to the occasion.”
The trio moves around the center for photographs. Standing in front of an image mosaic of King, they pose affectionately with one another. They’re used to this. Shifting to an installation modeled after Ebenezer Baptist Church, they bask in their ancestral history. Arndrea points out a photo of Martin as a child with a Hula Hoop. There’s another where he’s in a room as a little boy with his parents and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Though this is Yolanda’s legacy, her parents are adamant she develop her own sense of character. Being the Kings’ granddaughter is what makes her unique, they say, but everyone is unique in their own way.
Coretta passed away in 2006, before having a chance to meet her granddaughter. In 2007, Martin’s sister and the oldest child of Martin Jr. and Coretta, Yolanda King, passed away.
Born in 2008, Yolanda Renee King was named in her aunt’s honor.
But the younger Yolanda has already made a name for herself. At 9 years old, she began a journey in activism when she delivered a speech at a March for Our Lives rally and hosted a community outreach event for youth in 2018. She has written published essays and delivered remarks concerning gun control and civil rights, and Yolanda became an author in 2024 with her social justice children’s book “We Dream a World: Carrying the Light From My Grandparents Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.”
In March, she completed a debutante program with an Atlanta graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She delivered an inspiring message to her peers when the class graduated from Atlanta International School in May.
“It is now our turn to spread liberation,” she encouraged classmates during her graduation speech. “We are not waiting for permission; we are already organizing. We are already demanding action on climate justice, racial equity and gun violence prevention. We’re not doing it because it’s a trend. We’re doing it because it’s our survival.”
Yolanda plans to study political science and creative writing when she enters Columbia University in the fall, carrying the family’s trait in human rights advocacy forward.
“Peace isn’t just one agenda or us all finally having the same belief,” Yolanda said. “Peace is being able to disagree without erupting, is being able to disagree without erupting.”
With family is where Yolanda relishes in her individuality, and there’s ample trust in her making sound life decisions. Arndrea and Martin revel in their daughter’s leadership and ingenuity. Through her, they continue to learn new things: social trends, humanitarian issues, movies and music — like the Australian jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote.
“She helps me to expand my thinking because I’m regimented based on my life experience,” said Martin.
Yolanda cherishes her special family bond, recalling mommy-daughter and daddy-daughter dates. She gushes about the deep conversations she’s able to have with her parents.
Martin said, unlike him, Yolanda is decisive — a quality of hers he admires.
They share the kind of “daddy-daughter” bond that often makes it seem as though they’re in on a private joke.
Before venturing off to the next stage in life, Yolanda’s bond with her parents is unshakeable. Even while acclimating to New York City, she expects to make regular visits back home to Atlanta to see her family.
And definitely for a trip to Waffle House — an Atlanta staple — for her usual meal of waffles and sausage with an orange juice.
“I can’t over-express how proud we are,” he said. “I want her to know that whenever she needs me, I’m there — whatever that may be.”