This past Monday the country celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While many people posted images of Dr. King to honor his legacy, some people posted images in his likeness to promote things such as day parties and club events.  Rapper Sexyy Red posted an AI image of her and Dr. King in a club, which caught the attention of his daughter, Bernice King.

King expressed her disapproval of the post; Sexyy Red has since deleted the post and apologized for posting the image. The exchange between King and Red was seen on X. King called Red’s post “distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful” not only to her family but to her father as well. Over the years there has been an increase in images of Dr. King that have been used to promote events that don’t align with Dr. King’s legacy.

After Red apologizes, King explains that Dr. King has become a bit of a caricature and challenges any chance she gets.

Here is the exchange between the two on X:

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“This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father, who is not here to respond himself because he was assassinated for working for your civil and human rights and to end war and poverty. Please delete,” said King.

“You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent,” Sexyy Red tweeted.

King responded with, “Thank you for your apology, which I sincerely accept. Please know that it was not my intention that you be denigrated. I value you as a human being. I hope you understand my concerns about the image. I know that my father has become a bit of a caricature to the world and that his image is often used with no regard to his family, his sacrificial work, or the tragic, unjust way in which he died (a state-sanctioned assassination). Unfortunately, I regularly challenge the disregard. I earnestly wish that people would imagine what it would feel like to see their deceased, murdered father repurposed for party fliers, unjust legislation, etc. All the best to you, young lady.”

Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday in 1986 to honor the legacy and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King is an alumnus of Morehouse College, graduating from the HBCU in 1948