The children of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for referring to their father in his victory speech in Kentucky on Tuesday night after winning a seventh term, The Hill reported.
"When I witnessed Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington speech as an intern back in 1963, I dreamed about doing big things to help my state and our country," McConnell said after winning reelection. "I never imagined Kentuckians would make me the longest-serving senator in our state's history."
King's daughter, Bernice King, reacted to McConnell's remarks by tweeting:
"But my father's dream was to create the #BelovedCommunity, in part by eradicating #racism, #militarism and #poverty. Certainly not by denying #healthcare to human beings or by separating Brown immigrant children from their parents."
Martin Luther King III added to his sister's criticism of McConnell by pointing out the majority leader has blocked bills from reaching the Senate floor that could make a real change.
He wrote on Twitter:
"Mitch McConnell has had the opportunity to bring police reform & voting rights legislation to the floor of the Senate for months. If he was truly inspired by my father, he would join the fight to eradicate racism through policies that aim at creating peace, justice, and equity.
The Hill pointed out one such example, as McConnell has refused to bring to the Senate floor a vote on the passage by the Democrat-controlled House last year of legislation aimed at restoring a key provision in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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