Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at walk for reconciliation

Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., told people gathered for a walk for reconciliation in Vancouver Sept. 22 that economic injustice must be addressed with Canada’s First Nations. She told the crowd that an apology and money for programs does not erase the history of pain and abuse suffered by Aboriginal people. “We still suffer in America, as an African-American community,” she told media, referring to America’s history of slavery and oppression. King said her great-grandmother was part Cherokee and on her father’s side there is Native ancestry as well. King is a Baptist minister. She delivered the keynote to start the Walk for Reconciliation as part of a week-long event that included the National Gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Karen Joseph, executive director of Reconciliation Canada, said King’s attendance was especially meaningful because this year was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream’” speech.