Bernice King

“Always realize that even your strongest advocate and opponent is a part of the human family; albeit they may have small shortcomings and even strength in them, they are part of that human family.”

“I don't know if you realize this, but anger is anger. It has no mind. It has no rationality. It's mad, and it just wants to destroy.”

“My father provided some very important guidance in how we deal with conflict and polarization.”

“What I'm trying to do is fulfill what my father said, which is, 'We have to find a way to live together as brothers and sisters, or together we're going to perish as fools.'”

“I wouldn't say I'm against same-sex marriage. I believe in freedom and equality for all people. I believe that when it comes to gay marriage, that's a political and legal issue that has to be dealt with in that arena. I have privately held beliefs, but when it comes to that, it's properly placed in the political and legal arena.”

“People have labeled me homophobic. If I was homophobic, I wouldn't have friends who are gay and lesbian, so that can't be true.”

“In 1985, I joined my mother in a protest against apartheid in which we were arrested at the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. And she was at President-elect Mandela's side in Johannesburg when he claimed victory in South Africa's first free elections.”

“With The King Center as her base, my mother pressed on to fulfill a role that changed lives and legislation. She was a woman who refused to surrender the reigns of what she knew to be her assignment, even when male civil rights and business leaders tried to convince her that she should leave the work of building her husband's legacy to them.”

“We are carrying collectively a lot of trauma, especially those of us in the African-American community. And if we're not careful, it'll overtake us, and we'll self-destruct.”

“Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations.”

“If people want to criticize me, that's their issue.”

“In addition to needed gun control reforms, America urgently needs a stronger protest movement dedicated to reducing the glorification of violence in our culture - in music, film, television, video games, and even the Internet.”

“How do we expect change to occur if we are not willing to put on the whole armor of God and fight injustice wherever it raises its ugly head?”

“Some people feel like I'm arrogant. It's unfortunate, because people don't know my heart.”

“Choosing nonviolence does not mean that one will never get angry or become upset with others, including the ones we love.”

“I think the most pressing issue in our community is probably a generational divide.”

“Without my ministry, I would just be Martin Luther King's daughter. You know, when people call me that, it doesn't bother me anymore. I know I am not my father. I know I am me.”

“I know that the absence of my father in my life had its cost.”

“Police departments across the nation must develop nonviolent 'rules of engagement,' so that they don't reflexively respond to suspected crimes with violence. This will require more in-depth training in the behavioral psychology of conflict resolution so police have tried-and-true techniques of preventing and de-escalating violence.”

“At Grinnell College, for the first time in my life, I was in an all-white setting. It was a shocking experience.”