MLK’s granddaughter casts first ballot with her parents by her side

For one of Georgia’s most prominent civil rights families, Election Day marked a new generation exercising a right their family helped fight to protect.

Yolanda Renee King, the 18-year-old granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, cast her ballot in her first election Tuesday in northwest Atlanta.

Her parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, were by her side for the milestone.

King told Channel 2’s Lori Wilson that she had been waiting years for the opportunity.

“I’ve grown up going to the polls, and I remember being so sad that I couldn’t vote,” King said.

On Tuesday, that changed.

King received her first “I Voted” sticker after casting her ballot, adding her vote to a family legacy closely connected to the fight for voting rights.

For her father, the moment carried special significance.

“It’s a proud moment, and it’s a monumental moment, because she has been going with us to the polls for years,” Martin Luther King III said.

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Her mother reflected on the sacrifices of previous generations that made the moment possible.

“We live our lives, but we can feel the weight of history,” Arndrea Waters King said. “This is a moment we feel that bridge between the past and the enormity of the sacrifices.”

King has already become an outspoken advocate for young people making their voices heard.

Earlier this year, she addressed thousands of people during an event marking the anniversary of the March on Washington.

She said she believes her generation has demonstrated that it is willing to speak up when issues and rights important to them are challenged.

“I think whenever our rights are challenged, I think that my generation has shown that we are very vocal,” King said.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, an estimated 8 million Americans are eligible to vote for the first time in this election.

For the King family, however, Tuesday was about one new voter and the generations that came before her.

Martin Luther King III said he couldn’t help but think about what his parents would have felt watching their granddaughter cast her first ballot.

“Just looking down, smiling at this time as their granddaughter is casting her first vote,” he said.