ATLANTA – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions of people around the world, and now his only granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, aims to pick up where he left off with a message of hope for a new generation.
The 15-year-old has released a new picture book titled “We Dream A World” that is a tribute to her celebrated grandparents.
"I am ready to keep my eyes on the prize that you set out before us with the power of your vision,” the teen read. “Yes, Grandma Coretta. Yes, Granddaddy Martin, I am ready.”
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The book was released right before what would have been Dr. King’s 95th birthday. Yolanda said that she was inspired, like her grandparents before her, to reach out to those who will be building the future.
"I think that for a very long time, you've needed a message to the world of what type of world we can have,” she explained. “And I think that if you look at movements, it's led by young people."
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The socially engaged 15-year-old has been sharing her message to large crowds for years, including one not long ago at the March on Washington with her mom and dad, Marting Luther King III. When asked if she enjoys speaking in front of large crowds, Yolanda was quick to say she has always been a talker.
"It's so funny that you ask, because actually, if you ask my parents, I've always loved talking. I've always had something to say," she said.
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Yolanda is saying it with passion and conviction. Speaking last year at an MLK program at Clemson University, she took on tough issues like violence and homelessness, echoing the speeches made by her grandfather.
"I think I've always had a concern about these issues, and I've always heard his speeches playing around the house," she said.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 24: Yolanda Renee King and Jaclyn Corin speak onstage at March For Our Lives on March 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for March For Our Lives)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, D.C., USA - AUGUST 28: Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King, Martin Luther King III, Rev. Al Sharpton and thousands march during the âMarch On For Voting Rightsâ demonstration to heighten awareness about voter suppression in many parts of the country, on August, 28, 2021 in Washington D.C., USA. Since January, 48 states have introduced bills, many of which have become law according to the rally organization website, which are designed to suppress voter turnout by â banning ballot drop boxes, mail-in voting, reducing early voting days and hours as well as criminalizing the distribution of water to voters in long linesâ (Photo by John Lamparski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Arndrea Waters King (R) and Martin Luther King III listen to their daughter Yolanda Renee King speak following the Peace Walk in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Washington, DC on January 17, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, D.C. - JANUARY 17: Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., his wife Arndrea Waters King and daughter Yolanda Renee King take part in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Walk on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Monday. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s son, Martin Luther King III, his wife Arndrea Waters King and their daughter Yolanda Renee King visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. First observed 34 years ago, Martin Luther King day is a national holiday that marks the birthday of the civil rights icon and is a way to remember all that he accomplished. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
In listening to those speeches, Yoland said she feels her grandfather left messages for work that still needs to be done.
"He left us behind homework,” she explained. “And I feel like we've been procrastinating on that homework."
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: Arndrea Waters helps her daughter Yolanda Renee King sit on a statue to her grandfather after a wreath laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall January 15, 2012 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King III and others joined to lay a wreath at the memorial to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to honor the 83rd birthday of the American Civil Rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, D.C., USA - AUGUST 28: Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King, Martin Luther King III pose as thousands march during the âMarch On For Voting Rightsâ demonstration to heighten awareness about voter suppression in many parts of the country, on August, 28, 2021 in Washington D.C., USA. Since January, 48 states have introduced bills, many of which have become law according to the rally organization website, which are designed to suppress voter turnout by â banning ballot drop boxes, mail-in voting, reducing early voting days and hours as well as criminalizing the distribution of water to voters in long linesâ (Photo by John Lamparski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 28: Rev. Al Sharpton, Yolanda Renee King, Arndrea Waters King and Martin Luther King, III begin their march from from the Lincoln Memorial to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial August 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. Today marks the 57th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 17: Arndrea Waters King (R) and Martin Luther King III listen to their daughter Yolanda Renee King speak during a rally ahead of the Peace Walk in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images)
Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda's mother, supports her daughter's efforts. She said Yolanda was asked recently if she intends to pattern herself after her renowned granddad.
"And she quickly said, ‘Yes I do, because those footsteps are important, but I want to make my own footsteps,’" Waters King recalled. "She described herself as having an itch, you know, that you just have to scratch."
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Though Yolanda has never met her grandparents, she says their spirit is always with her. And while she blazes her own trail of social activism, she takes with her Dr. King's legacy, his name and his dream.
