Yolanda Renee King is a human rights activist, author and the only grandchild of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. On Sunday, Jan. 18, King participated in a Fireside Chat on the Colorado College campus to share personal experiences and discuss her grandfather’s legacy of peacemaking in advance of MLK Day.
Hosted in Cornerstone Arts Center, the panel included students from CC, Discovery Canyon Campus High School, Pikes Peak State College, Sierra High School, University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Widefield High School. Students were able to ask questions about social justice, the civil rights movement and the philosophy of nonviolent change.
“The Fireside Chat is an opportunity to bring students together. It was really great for CC to host this event,” said Nancy Rios, director of the CC Institutional Equity and Belonging Office.
CC’s student representative was Ashley Paul ‘27, an international relations major and Caribbean and African Student Union member, who shares King’s passion for contributing to the making of a more just world.
Answering Paul’s question about how historical injustices continue to shape modern social structures, King said, “It’s barely been 60 years, it’s recent. We need to continue to advocate and do the work. My grandfather didn’t leave saying, ‘Okay, we’re done.’ We forget the core of his message that we have to keep on going.”
At only 17 years old, King has already made her personal mark on the history of human rights and civic engagement. She spoke out against gun violence at the March for Our Lives, demanded protection of voting rights in a protest outside the White House and addressed systemic inequality at the UN General Assembly.
King is also the author of a children’s book, We Dream A World, which honors her grandparents’ legacy and encourages young people to become the agents of change.
Yolanda King attended the “Fireside Chat” panel as part of a series of events honoring Dr. King’s legacy called “Mission Possible II: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.” She also delivered a keynote speech at the annual MLK Prayer Breakfast before joining the Unity March from The Antlers Hotel to Acacia Park on Monday, Jan. 19.