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[MUSIC PLAYING]
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Hello, everyone.
I'm Alexis Christoforous, and this is "Yahoo News Live."
Well, as Donald Trump himself put it,
the bromance between him and Ted Cruz
is officially over after the latest GOP debate.
Take a listen.
TED CRUZ: There was nothing to this birther issue.
[LAUGHTER]
Now--
[LAUGHTER]
Since September, the Constitution hasn't changed.
[LAUGHTER]
[CHEERS]
But the poll numbers have.
[CHEERS]
-Why are you raising this issue now?
DONALD TRUMP: Because now he's doing a little bit better.
No, I didn't care before.
It's true.
TED CRUZ: I think most people know exactly what New York
values are.
[LAUGHTER]
DONALD TRUMP: That was a very insulting statement
that Ted made.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, one issue
that really did not come up at the debate ahead of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. day holiday on Monday is that of race.
And Dr. Bernice King is the CEO of the King Center.
She joins us from Atlanta on what
would have been her father's 87th birthday.
And, Dr. King, so good to have you with us.
BERNICE KING: Thank you.
Glad to be here.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, first,
let me get your take on the back and forth
you just heard and just the rhetoric, in general,
on the debate stage last night.
BERNICE KING: Well, I mean, it's part and parcel of politics,
but I do think that we need to find a way
to raise the standard in terms of how we talk to one another.
And that's one of the things we try
to teach throughout Nonviolence 365 at the King Center
is how to speak with each other with a sense of dignity
and respect.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, I want
to talk a little bit about Donald Trump.
The president was recently asked if he
was to blame for Trump's rise in the polls.
He said he is not.
We spoke to Congressman Charlie Rangel
earlier this week on that subject.
He said President Obama should probably now change his 2008
campaign slogan from "Yes, we can" to "We couldn't."
What do you make of that?
Do you blame President Obama for Trump's rise?
BERNICE KING: Well, I'm not one who's
into casting blame in most situations.
I kind of look at situations that it's more important
that we focus on what it is we need to be doing to improve
and better our humanity.
And so I just choose not to get into that particular debate.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Probably smart.
[CHUCKLING]
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: There has been some controversy
surrounding the announcement that Trump
will be the convocation speaker at Liberty University on Martin
Luther King, Jr. day.
Now, Liberty is defending their choice.
They say it gives Mr. Trump the chance to honor your father.
And some students are protesting that choice.
Where do you stand on that issue?
BERNICE KING: Well, I mean, I'm not a part of that.
And so I really can't address that.
I mean, this is the King holiday.
People choose to do what they want,
as it relates to the holiday.
We prefer that people focus on the ideals and the teachings
of my father.
And, as you know, my father was for the inclusiveness
and the betterment of our American society and the world.
And, certainly, we recognize that there are
diverse voices in our country.
And people have the right of free speech.
They have the right of choice.
But, again, it is our hope that when they choose,
that they choose to reflect those ideals that he taught us.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Now, I know
you're here to talk about the state of your father's
dream, referencing, of course, his famous 1963
"I Have a Dream" speech.
To start a dialogue around key issues
that this country faces every day, if you
had to pick one issue that is the most
pressing to the African American community, what would that be?
BERNICE KING: Well, I think, perhaps,
the most pressing issue in our community
is probably a generational divide.
Because I think that's the source
of a lot of our challenges that we have not
done a good job to ensure that the next generation understands
fully our history and the contributions
that so many people made for them to be where they are
and also have an appreciation for some of the values
that we have typically reflected,
such as a respect for community, and love for family,
and also a strong sense of faith.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, we're
now in the final year of President Obama's second term.
And one of the issues, as you are well aware,
that's reignited during his tenure
is the divide in race relations in this country.
And we've seen the rise of the "Black Lives Matter" movement
under his presidency.
And if you look at how both whites and blacks feel
about the racial divide over his seven years in office,
you can see the divide has unfortunately only deepened,
particularly in the last two years.
Does President Obama, you think, bear part
of the blame for that?
BERNICE KING: Well, again, I'm not one to blame.
I think we all have a sense of responsibility,
as it relates to race relations in America.
All of us can do a much better job.
Those of us in different places of leadership
certainly can do a much better job
at fostering better race relations.
I do think President's set tones,
and I think he has done a tremendous job in doing that.
He has spoken a couple of times, I know specifically,
to the issue of race.
But one person, one president cannot be blamed for years
of problems, as it relates to race in America.
This is something that has been with us since the founding
of this nation.
We were founded with slaves, and we
moved into segregation and Jim Crowism.
And so institutionalized racism has been with those pre-Obama,
and it obviously will be with us post-Obama.
But, again, I think my father would challenge
us to really find a way, which we believe
through our teachings of Nonviolence 365 can help foster
better race relations.
We have to learn how to live together and co-exist.
Even if we never come to a common ground,
there are rules of engagement to be
able to co-exist in spite of these differences
and even in spite of our feelings.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, the national Martin Luther King
holiday is, of course, Monday.
But today, January 15th, is the actual date
of your father's birthday.
He would have been 87.
Share with us your thoughts and how
you're reflecting on your father and his legacy today.
BERNICE KING: Well, one thing's for sure.
I was at an event this morning at our state capital
in recognition of his birthday.
And one of the speakers there is Xernona Clayton, who
worked with my father, made a statement
that I really thought about.
And she said "If ML were here, he would say,
what's taking you all so long?"
[CHUCKLING]
In other words, back in 1967, he wrote
in a book, "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?"
a blueprint-- he wrote a prescription
for creating a better world, for creating
what he called a better humanity, a world house.
And, in that, he talked about the redistribution of wealth.
He talked about the finding a way
to live together as brothers and sisters.
But, more importantly, he talked about the revolution of values.
And I think if he were here today,
he would be repeating himself some almost 50 years later,
saying the same exact things to us over and over
again because he foresaw that if we didn't make
certain changes-- he said, if we don't rapidly
begin a shift from a thing-oriented society
to a person-center society, then some of the problems
that we're faced with today, we would be faced with.
And so, as I think about him today, I
miss him, first and foremost.
I wish he were with us because he would be that moral voice
that we need today to kind of bring us
back to the best of who we are as humanity.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Do you think it's ironic in a way
that we have the first black president,
and it's under his presidency that the race divide is really
so pronounced?
BERNICE KING: I don't think so.
I think what his election did is bring to the surface
that which we had been pushing under the rug for so
many years.
I mean, after my father-- remember,
he was assassinated in the midst of.
It's not like he culminated and ended a chapter.
He was in midst of dealing with class divide
and even how it disproportionately affected
people of color, in particular.
And so we did not do a good job between his assassination
and the election of President Obama
to continue the momentum that we were on during his time.
And so I don't think it's a surprise
that this happened because we just have ignored it, frankly.
And the beauty, I believe, of the "Black Lives Matter"
movement, it is bringing it back to the forefront
and keeping it at the forefront because we have
to deal with the polarization and the divides because,
as Daddy said, if we don't learn to live together
as brothers and sisters, together we
will perish as fools.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, on that note, we will leave it.
Dr. Bernice King, thank you so much for being with us today.
BERNICE KING: Thank you.
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And we always look forward to hearing
what you have to say.
You can follow me on Twitter at Alexis TV News
and use hashtag Yahoo Live to let
us know what you think ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. day.
I'm Alexis Christoforous.
Thanks for watching.
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