© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008

“The Lord has not led me... thus far to endorse a candidate, but I'm very excited about what I see.” — Martin Luther King III

On the day that Martin Luther King III arrived in Washington as a guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to watch President Bush's State of the Union address, National Journal's Alexis Simendinger asked the CEO of Realizing the Dream Inc., a humanitarian organization based in Atlanta, to reflect on his unexpected YouTube fame of the week before, as well as the race for the presidency.

King: I think it's wonderful, because it's clear to me that people across our nation and the world need to hear and understand the message of Martin Luther King Jr. -- the message of non-violence, of inclusion. We live in a nation with 36 million people who are in poverty -- and it's growing -- and 46 million with no health insurance, and it's growing; with a home crisis in relationship to sub-prime lending. I mean, these are issues we all know about, but we've got to do something about them, and it really takes leadership. But if we embrace the philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., I would expect that many of those issues could be resolved.

Q: How many times have you met President Clinton?

King: Oh, gosh, many times. I was at the White House. I was on Air Force One with him on an occasion or two. I first met him when he was governor of Arkansas in 1984, when he observed the King Holiday. I met him and Senator Clinton at the time. She, in fact, came and met me at the airport.

Q: What was your reaction to the president's dozing?

King: The president was just exhausted; I knew that prior to even getting up to speak. We had to do an interview prior to [the tribute], and he was very, very good -- outstanding in the interview. I also knew he was leaving and going to Buffalo, and I knew that he was going to be in Atlanta the following day. But right after the interview, he yawned [chuckles], so I said to myself, 'oh my goodness.' And I knew that he had been on the campaign trail.

I didn't really even think about it until I saw it on YouTube, and saw when they were playing a lullaby song [breaks up laughing]. I thought it was quite funny. So, it didn't bother me. I didn't look at it as [a case of] the president not listening to what I was saying. The man is exhausted! He finds energy to do what he has to do, but you know, if you're sitting for any moment in time-- I understand because my attention span is often short. I certainly empathize with him. With sympathy, you feel sorry for someone, but when you empathize, you feel with them. I empathize -- I feel with the president [laughs].

Q: Did you ever feel sleepy as a child listening to your father?

King: I do not remember that, but I do remember times when we went to church, when he preached on some Sundays. And I imagine I would be sleeping during his sermons. That was when I was a very young child -- I was 10 years old when my father was killed. But I'm talking about 5, or 6, or 7 -- somewhere along there -- when I would be in church and he would preach and part of that time, I might have been asleep.

Q: What do you think about the Internet's power?

King: I would say we're not using it enough [at the Realizing the Dream organization], but we certainly expect to in the very, very near future. Anyone who wants to be successful and get their message out to the public must use every medium available, not just the traditional media. YouTube overnight is huge, which is wonderful because it gives you an opportunity to speak to people that you wouldn't normally or necessarily be able to reach. Everyone does not watch the traditional news. People may not be watching as much television, but they are looking at their computers and laptops. It's absolutely incredible. Organizations and individuals who are most able to embrace and utilize those tools effectively will be able to get their message out, whatever it is.

Q: Now for a political question: Have you endorsed a candidate in the presidential race?

King: No, I have not.

Q: Do you plan to?

King: Well, I don't know. I won't say no, because the Lord has not led me -- and I'll use that phrase -- thus far to endorse a candidate, but I'm very excited about what I see. I'll say that much. I'm very excited, and I'm very excited, more so, that young people are very excited about this process and being involved.

Q: What was your reaction to what transpired between the Clintons and Senator Obama leading into the South Carolina primary?

King: I was a little bit concerned because I think the issues are more important: How are we going to address the crisis [of] people losing their homes? How are we going to address the issues of putting people back to work, when jobs are being exported? There are so many issues: Health care, disease, saving our environment -- not just someone's ethnicity.

I mean, race issues -- we certainly have not made all the strides that we could. But in fact, we've made tremendous strides in the political arena: the fact that a woman and an African-American could be serious contenders for the presidency, and on the Republican side, [that] a Mormon is a serious contender. Yet we've not made the serious strides that we should on the social issues of health and education and housing, and how we're going to create jobs. That's where the campaign needs to always be focused -- not on issues of distraction. They're not real issues.

Q: For those reasons, if Senator Obama were elected president, would your father say the country still had not realized the dream, even if an African American gets to the White House?

King: He'd say this is a huge aspect of realizing the dream -- which is the name of our organization -- [if Obama were] elected, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, because there are so many people who are impoverished in America; there are so many people who are poorly and under-educated; there are so many people who are still fighting -- violence is still very real and it's growing in our nation. So until we find ways to address these issues, we're not reaching the mark of truly realizing the dream that he envisioned for our nation.

Q: Has Senator Obama sought your -- and the King family's -- campaign endorsement?

King: I'll just say not directly. But a number of people from his organization -- I've probably had 50 people reach out to me.

Q: You're waiting?

King: I'm just taking my time, and if I'm led to believe that what we have to offer can be helpful, then maybe we'll weigh in. To me, Senator Clinton represents certainly experience and she's one of the brightest people around. I mean, just very, very bright. But I think he brings a different dynamic that she does not have, and that's the ability to build coalitions and to bring people together. Not that she can't do that; it's just that he seems to be able to do that better.

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