MLK III comes to Phoenix, slams Sinema over filibuster

Martin Luther King III speaks during a pro-suffrage rally Tuesday, September 14, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Martin Luther King III came to Arizona with tough words for Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, whose refusal to change the Senate’s Jim Crow-era filibuster rules makes passage of the Voting Rights Act unlikely.

King told a crowd campaigning for voting rights protections that Sinema could not simultaneously express his support for the legislation and block her approval.

“I believe history will remember Senator Sinema in an unkind way because of her position in the filibuster,” the civil rights leader’s eldest son said as the nation prepared to mark the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

With his wife Arndrea Waters King; and their daughter Yolanda Renee King, 13, the family joined a march in Phoenix with local activists and supporters from the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, a predominantly black church, and spoke about the importance of “no celebration without legislation.”

“Our daughter has fewer choices than when she was born,” King said in an interview. “I can’t imagine what my mum and dad would say to that. I’m sure they keep going over it in their graves.”

Arizona is one of 19 states that last year passed more than 30 state election laws — including a ban on giving water to voters in long lines and stricter ballot-signing requirements — that King described as “draconian.” They make it harder for people to vote, especially people of color, he said.

Another reason the family decided to appear in Arizona is to message Sinema. President Joe Biden had begged her and Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, to end the filibuster rule, which requires 60 out of 100 senators to pass most laws.

Sinema doused the idea with cold water on Thursday, making it clear in a dramatic Senate speech that while she supports voting rights legislation, she would not change the filibuster rules to allow them to move forward. The filibuster, she said, enforces bipartisan cooperation. Otherwise, Republicans could just repeal and replace whenever they come to power.

History will remember Sen. Sinema, I think unkindly, for her position in the filibuster.

Martin Luther King III

“We must address the disease itself, the disease of division, to protect our democracy,” Sinema said, drawing disappointment from his Democrats.

Sinema was mocked by some of the hundreds of people who attended Saturday’s rally after Rev. Warren Stewart, a prominent black clergyman and activist, said she was among “those … who would be hiding behind the proceedings”.

The rally took place in Eastlake Park, which for decades during segregation was a gathering place for blacks unwelcome in other parts of the city.

The King family’s plea brings a particularly powerful voice to an increasingly tense campaign to pressure Sinema to change her mind. Progressive groups have installed billboards and aired television ads, and activists even harassed Sinema in a bathroom at Arizona State University and at a friend’s wedding where the senator was officiating.

Congressional Democrats have authored election legislation that would usher in the biggest overhaul of the US elections in a generation, tearing down electoral hurdles imposed in the name of electoral security. The legislation would also reduce the influence of big money in politics and limit party influence in drawing congressional districts.

It also includes the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill that would strengthen civil rights-era voting rights and honor the legacy of the late Georgia congressman.

Supporters had hoped the legislation would move forward by Monday’s MLK holiday. Still emboldened, King urged people to take action, like sign petitions or call their senators. The holiday is “not a traditional celebration of sitting back, eating a BBQ and just relaxing,” he said. “This is about work.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. as a young man, said Friday he was concerned about the current lack of political consensus over voting rights. Earlier in Washington, Republicans and Democrats voted to reauthorize the 1965 Voting Rights Act, with both parties acknowledging the historic nature of the legislation.

“The right to vote was the crown jewel of the civil rights struggle,” Jackson said in a phone interview, adding that “we are in a desperate situation.”

Ultimately, he agrees with members of the King family who are urging that MLK Day celebrations take a different tone until Congress acts on voting rights legislation.

“We don’t have time to celebrate,” Jackson said. “It’s time to demonstrate, to march in large numbers. We cannot just be silent observers in this fight.”

Written by Associated Press writer Terry Tang. Jonathan J. Cooper and Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report.

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