Martin Luther King's Son Speaks with Rev. Al Sharpton about King's Legacy

Martin Luther King III, the son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was on "Keeping it Real with Rev. Al Sharpton" the other day to discuss the legacy of his father. I was the guest scheduled to come on right after Mr. King, so the producers asked me to listen in on the conversation. I've never met Dr. King's son, but I am always flattered to have an opportunity to meet with individuals who are so close to the honest legacy of civil rights in America. I felt the same when speaking to Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, who appeared on Sharpton's show with me when I was in New York.

During the conversation between King and Sharpton, I listened closely to get a sense of what Dr. King's son perceived to be the legacy of his father. I've always been concerned about the fact that Dr. King's dream has been watered down, commercialized and altered into a confusing montage of benefit dinners, award ceremonies and McDonald's commercials. No one really understands what Dr. King stood for, nor do we think carefully about how to best continue his work.

While I cannot speak for either Mr. King or Rev. Sharpton, I can give my own interpretation of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. First, Dr. King was a fighter. He was a man who believed in doing what was right, even if it came with tremendous personal consequence. He was a scholar: a man who educated himself enough to draw from knowledge in other cultures in order to accelerate the progress of his own. He didn't just fight for racial justice, he fought for justice for everyone: Dr. King wanted fair access to housing, health care, education and all the things that human beings need in order to maintain a high quality of life.

I mentioned to Rev. Sharpton that while Dr. King's dream of racial equality is possible within the United States, his job of fighting for the poor is both thankless and endless. America, a capitalist society, is not designed to allow the poor to have the same access to justice as the wealthy. Capitalism, at its worst, ultimately works to exploit and enslave poor people. At the same time, Dr. King's job of fighting for the poor is necessary, because America needs spiritual descendants of King to serve as our nation's collective conscience. With this conscience in place, we will be sure to never sell our soul to the beast of capitalism. A capitalist society has proven to be a great vehicle for national productivity, but it must be tempered with a conscientious concern for those who are the weakest among us.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.