The Dr. Jeff Show Ep. 29 – Alveda King

Episode 29: Summary & Transcript

Disclaimer: Please note that this is an automatically generated transcript. Although the transcription is largely accurate, it may be incomplete or inaccurate in some cases due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Dr. Jeff interviews Alveda King, a civil rights activist and niece of Martin Luther King Jr. She discusses her experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement and how its lessons apply to today’s issues. King details her current work, which focuses on pro-life advocacy, school choice, and religious freedom, explaining that her activism is a calling she embraced after a “Queen Esther moment.” She offers advice to young people, encouraging them to act with courage and not fear. She also introduces the three-generation rule, emphasizing the critical need to pass down truth and history to each new generation.

Episode Transcript

Dr. Jeff Myers (00:00):
Thanks for tuning into the Dr. Jeff Show. This show is available on Apple, Google, Edifi, Spotify, Overdrive, Liftable and wherever you get your podcasts. Hey gang, welcome to the Dr. Jeff Show. On this show, I interview major thought leaders from many fields of influence to show how worldview changes everything.

Today, I’m especially excited to welcome someone you may know well for a very short conversation, but very worthwhile, Alveda King. She’s the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist, Dr. A. D. King and his wife, Naomi Barbara King, and niece to Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr. Alveda carries on their legacy in fighting for the oppressed, especially in civil rights, school choice, and especially for the unborn. Please join me in welcoming Alveda King to the show. Alveda King, welcome to the Dr. Jeff Show.

Alveda King (00:58):
Hi, Dr. Jeff, and it’s good to join you and your listeners, your viewers. Hello, everybody.

Dr. Jeff Myers (01:04):
Well, you have made an incredible difference as a humanitarian, as a minister, as a civil rights activist. You’re one of my heroes. I see you speaking all of the time on television news shows and giving wisdom for our time. But I want to be sure that our viewers and our listeners, many of whom are in their 20s and trying to get a good start in life, get some background on who you are. Your father was the Slain civil rights leader, AD King, your uncle, Martin Luther King Jr. Could you talk a little bit about what it was like to grow up in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement?

Alveda King (01:42):
Well, I’m so happy to speak to you, and especially those viewers who may be under the age of 50. I’m 70 years old, so I’ve lived in two centuries, and I’ve been in the civil rights movement since I was a little girl, a tiny little girl. I was born into it as a matter of fact. However, there is a three generation rule. If certain things are not taught in every generation, it takes only three generations to pass, and then people tend to forget about it.

So it’s very appropriate for me to speak about the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Of course, at that time, we were dealing with racism and the issue of skin color. We know today, more and more, and young people are really getting this truth, that there is one critical race. It is the human race. There’s only one critical race.

(02:33):
There’s a human race on this planet. Now, with that being said, we do not judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character. Of course, we can see each other and we should recognize the ethnicities and cultures that our skin colors represent, but we have to treat all human beings equally as a member of the human creation.

Dr. Jeff Myers (02:59):
Tell us what, in your particular work, how you focus on that.

Alveda King (03:05):
Well, here in the 21st century, of course, I stand up for life from the womb to the tomb. That means protecting the little babies in the womb, allowing them to be born. When children are born, we want them to grow up in stable families, to get a good education. I’m very concerned, for instance, here in this century, civics and certain things have been removed from the curriculums across our nation, especially in the public school.

In 1963, Madeline O’Hare, our mother was disgruntled and didn’t want her child praying when he went to school or maybe even pledging allegiance to the flag and et cetera. And she went to court and had prayer removed from public schools and quite a bit from the public square. So I support freedom of speech, everyone’s opportunity to religiously worship the way they want to, freedom of religion. Abortion is not a good solution for any family, for any woman, definitely not good for the baby.

(04:09):
Father’s regret, lost fatherhood. So those are platforms that I continually represent. I had abortions myself in the 20th century, and I do regret those, and I had a miscarriage because of a botched abortion. So that is part of my platform. I am a Christian, and that means I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. However, I don’t believe in forcing my religion on others, but living it so that others may be attracted and will want to know more about Jesus Christ.

Dr. Jeff Myers (04:43):
And Alveda, in some of your writings, you’ve talked about having a Queen Esther moment. And I’m curious how you got that sense of calling.

Alveda King (04:56):
Absolutely. It was in the 1990s. I’ve been a member of Believers Bible Christian Church in Atlanta, Georgia since 1987. Early in the 1990s, maybe even mid 1990s, my pastor was preaching about our calling and accepting God’s call for our lives. I woke up one morning and read the entire book of Esther before I dressed my children and before we went to church. When we got to church, the pastor was preaching and teaching.

And in the midst of his lesson, he called everyone up to the altar who was ready to obey God’s call. And I remember going up to the altar and he said, Queen Esther, it is time for you to come off of your throne of complacency. There’s a hole in the Spirit in the city of Atlanta. If you do not accept this calling, you and your father’s house will be forgotten. God will raise up a voice for him.

(05:58):
So I thought about it. I had read the whole book of Esther, and the book of Esther had also said that if Queen Esther did not answer, she and her father’s house would be forgotten. And I was like, “My Lord.” And so from that day forward, I began to be much more serious about things for the Lord that I had ever been in my entire life.

Dr. Jeff Myers (06:19):
Alveda, you’ve followed that call in so many different areas, but you know from your own childhood that it’s not without risk. Growing up in civil rights families, you experienced your father’s home being bombed, your father’s church being bombed. I think there are a lot of young adults today saying, “Yeah, I kind of like the idea of having a call. I want to make a difference, but not that bad.” What would you say to young adults who need courage?

Alveda King (06:51):
In our family, I was raised by three Baptist preachers and there were predominant things. My father, Reverend A. D. King, taught about the miracles of Jesus Christ. And I believed through my daddy’s teachings of the Bible that Jesus is who the Bible says he is. My grandfather, Martin Luther King Sr. teaching about the least of these, caring for others, and my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talking about the love of God.

So I was raised and taught to fear not. That message resonates throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. And so I was taught by Pastor Alan McNairy believers, perfect love cast out all fear. So I would say to that 20 year old, that 15 year old, that 10 year old, that 30 year old, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, however you are and those who are over 100 and people do exist. If there is a calling in your heart, I would say to you, “Fear not and God will provide.”

Dr. Jeff Myers (07:56):
Before the show, I was sharing with you an experience I had of visiting the memorial to your Uncle Martin Luther King Jr. In Washington DC. And it was in the evening time just gazing up at the carving there. So his form, for those who have not visited, is carved out of stone and it’s not completely carved out. It is as if to say there is unfinished work to be done with the things that he considered to be important.

Could you just give a little vision to the young adults who are watching or listening right now, who are wondering what kind of work they could engage in that would be meaningful and make a difference for God’s image bearers here in this country in the United States or around the world?

Alveda King (08:45):
Well, I’ll bring a little hint from the Bible itself. And at the end of, I don’t know if it’s Matthew or Mark, but at the end, it says, “Do the work of the evangelist.” So we know that in every generation, we must carry the message of hope, of truth, of life, of love. And that has to happen in every generation.

I say to the young people, and somebody will say, “Well, I’ve read the Bible. I already know that.” I said, “Did you drink water yesterday?” “Well, yes.” “Well, so you don’t need any today because you drank it yesterday, right?” And they stop and they think about it. So the word of God is living and it lives from generation to generation. And so the work of faith, hope, and love, learning to live together as brothers and sisters, not judging people by skin color, which indicates ethnicity, but to honestly get to know and love each other by the word of God.

(09:44):
Don’t be colorblind. We have to see color and recognize the gifts of every culture, but we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. And then we must know that we have to teach and do the work of the evangelist in every generation.

Dr. Jeff Myers (10:02):
With everything that we do. Earlier you mentioned a three generation rule. Could you, in closing, just expand on that a little bit?

Alveda King (10:10):
I have noticed in my lifetime, and I’ve lived for 70 plus years, I’ve even gone to speak at schools and ask the question, has anyone ever heard of Martin Luther King Jr.? Yes, they would say. And then one would say, “Didn’t he free the slaves?” I said, “That was President Abraham Lincoln.”

So I realized that in that particular generation with that audience, they had at least not been properly taught. So if three generations go by with error being taught or truth not being taught, then people won’t remember. So that’s very important. Generation to generation, the Bible says, and teach it to your children and children’s children, that we must continue to do.

Dr. Jeff Myers (10:58):
Such a good word. I think about, with my neighbors and friends and so forth, a lot of times I don’t even talk about the things that are most important to me. I just end up talking about everyday things, but truth has to be constantly communicated in order to be refreshed and a new generation to be prepared.

Alveda King (11:16):
Thank you.

Dr. Jeff Myers (11:18):
Thank you so much for your time. Really grateful that you could come on the Dr. Jeff Show today.

Alveda King (11:23):
All right, Dr. Jeff, God bless. Bye.

Dr. Jeff Myers (11:28):
I know our conversation went by really fast, but I want to deeply thank Alveda King for joining me on the Dr. Jeff Show today. She shows us that each of us can be a world changer in our sphere of influence if we live for such a time as this and have courage. You can follow Alveda King on Twitter @AlvedaKing and visit her website, alvedaking.com.

Today when Alveda talked about her Esther moment, just remember where that comes from in scripture. Esther 4:14, where Esther’s cousin Mordecai said, “And who knows, but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this.” God has appointed each of us to a role where we can be the ones to speak out with wisdom in times like this. I’ll look forward to seeing you next week.

(12:17):
Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Jeff Show. It’s a podcast from Summit Ministries, summit.org. Summit is a nonprofit ministry that exists to equip and support the rising generation to embrace God’s truth and champion a biblical worldview for nearly 60 years.

Summit Ministries has been training students and those who work with students to develop, deepen and defend a biblical worldview through life-changing conferences, thoughtful church, homeschool and Christian school, curriculum books, free online resources and more. If you want to live out a biblical worldview in today’s world and you desire to instill a lifelong faith in the rising generation, visit summit.org/thedrjeffshow for more information.

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(13:21):
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