King calls for economic opportunities to address injustice against First Nations

VANCOUVER – The daughter of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. says economic injustice must be addressed as part of the reconciliation process with Canada’s First Nations.

Bernice King says her father believed that economic injustice was inseparable from racism and spent the last three years of his life raising the issue before he was assassinated in 1968.

King, who is visiting Vancouver this weekend, told reporters that a history of pain and abuse that takes generations to overcome can’t be erased with apologies or money for programs.

The Baptist minister says First Nations in Canada, along with African Americans who have suffered oppression, need opportunities to become economically empowered.

King is in Vancouver as part of the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission events to recognize the horror of Canada’s residential school system.

She was introduced by Karen Joseph, executive director of Reconciliation Canada, who says King’s appearance at the event is especially meaningful this year, during the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.