As the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day amid political upheaval, economic uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion, King's daughter, Dr. Bernice King is clear-eyed about the stakes of this moment, and deeply concerned that many Americans are failing to grasp its seriousness. 

She sat down with BET to share how she feels about the current state of America and why she’s leaning into spirituality more than ever. 

“I would say my heart is troubled,” King said when asked where she stands emotionally right now. “And as soon as I said that, I heard the voice of the Lord say, Let not your heart be troubled… but trouble from the standpoint of it’s hard to capture words because it’s so much going on right now.”

According to King, the speed and intensity of recent events have left people reacting rather than reflecting. 

“I’m not sure that we understand the magnitude of this moment, because it came with such rapid fire,” she said. “And usually when that happens, all you can do is react. There’s not a lot of time to, quote, unquote, prepare.”

That lack of preparation is especially dangerous, she noted, as traditional paths to accountability feel increasingly blocked. “What is happening now… it seems like every avenue for correction, every avenue for appeal has become challenging, limiting, and sometimes cut off,” she said. “And even when I speak of appeal, even on the legal side… what we thought would be an outcome in terms of reversing some things, doesn’t happen.” 

Despite her concerns, King does not believe this moment is hopeless. Instead, she looks to history—and spirituality—for guidance. “But I know that there is [a way forward] because our ancestors got past a lot of stuff,” she said, invoking Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery. “She had no knowledge… she didn’t know the landscape… so how did she get on foot… up to the north and into Canada? She had to rely on the source outside of humankind.”

King was careful to distinguish spirituality from performative religiosity. “I’m not talking about church,” she said. “I’m dealing with spirituality. I’m dealing with knowing that there’s a God in this universe who understands and knows what we are dealing with and up against… and we have got to be still and know that God and seek divine wisdom and guidance in this hour.”

She stressed that intellect alone is insufficient. “We got a lot of intelligence, but intelligence ain’t going to get us through this alone. It just isn’t,” King said. “There is a divine design in this hour.”

That insistence on discipline and strategy also shapes how King responds to portrayals of her father as passive or disengaged from economic power. 

“Some of it, I think, is intentional, and some of it is fed by our own people,” she said of those narratives. “That’s because they haven’t really studied his life, the movement.”

She pointed to Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, as proof of Dr. King’s broader vision. “Daddy was building an economic infrastructure that had outcomes that were tangible, that added to the economic power and strength of the Black community,” she said. “People don’t know that. They’re unaware of that.”

For King, nonviolence was never about passivity. 

“Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love,” she said. “That’s not an easy thing. That is challenging systems of injustice and calling them to task.”

King doesn’t speak about economic justice in the abstract. She shared that she is part of a group that purchased a white-owned bank in Salt Lake City, a decision rooted in long-term strategy.

“I’m a part of a group of investors who purchased a white-owned bank that had zero delinquencies in the whitest place, one of the whitest places in the United States of America, Salt Lake City,” she said.

The acquisition required intentional planning, explaining that this is evidence of leaning on discernment is what really advances civil and social rights agendas. 

 “My business partner found out about it. He sent somebody that didn’t look like us to have the first conversation. {That’s } wisdom,” King explained. “Eventually he showed up. It was shock, but the person wanted to sell.” 

King’s longstanding relationships also proved crucial. “God had already planted me as friends with one of the most powerful families in the Latter Day Saints Church 25 years ago,” she said. “So some of our greatest donors have no vote, because this is a Black-owned bank.”

She emphasized the importance of ownership and control. “We have their money, we have their support, but we are in charge,” King said. “Everything don’t have to be Black, Black, Black, but it can be Black-owned.”

When asked what everyday people can do to honor the King legacy, Bernice King was direct: it starts with study. “Action has to be preceded by study,” she said. “You really have to study Dr. King’s philosophy and methodology and read his books, because insight can be gained.”

She described the present as a rare opening. “This is a moment of creation for us,” King said. “But it has to be so thought out that we learn from some things that happened historically.”

Ultimately, King says she believes the question facing this generation is one of depth. “Do we want to build wide, or do we want to build deep?” she asked. “When you build deep, it’s harder for a storm to destroy you.”