Martin Luther King's electrifying sermons came straight from the heart — and set the stage for the thundering advancement of civil rights in America, his niece Dr. Alveda King told
Newsmax TV.
"He took classes as a preacher, but [his sermons went] so far beyond that, it was just absolute gifting," King said Monday to Joe Concha, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show."
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on
DIRECTV Ch. 349 and
DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system –
Click Here Now
Alveda King — a civil rights activist herself and a pastoral associate and director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries — spoke of her uncle on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
She said King, who would have turned 86 today, was often called the "black Moses of the 20th century."
"Martin Luther King, Jr. did not live the natural earth years that Moses lived, but during his lifetime he was tried in the fire," Alveda said.
"Moses saw a burning bush. Martin Luther King, Jr. walked through the fire, literally. [His] house was bombed and … he was shot."
"[In his] 'mountain-top speech,' he said, 'I may not get there with you, but I believe that we as a people will see the Promised Land. Moses, of course, had a mountain top experience and so did my uncle."
She said she took her uncle — who was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 — at his word.
"I believe that we as the people, not just black people, but black people and white people, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews would join together and sing, 'free at last,' " she said.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.