Alveda King, the conservative niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pushed back on Monday after Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy suggested Black fathers were to blame for problems in the African-American community.
"Martin Luther King did so much for our country," Campos-Duffy told King during an MLK Day interview. "But he was a special source of hope and inspiration for the Black community. I'm thinking about back when he was alive or just before he passed away, only 24%, Alveda, of Black children were born out of wedlock. And today, that number is approaching 70%."
The Fox News host said that she had recently interviewed a guest who thought "fatherlessness was the civil rights issue of our time."
"We hear a lot of other issues talked about, about how to help the African-American community," she said. "Do you think your uncle would agree with that?"
For her part, King agreed that children were better off with a mother and father.
"And not just the Black fathers but all fathers across America and around the world," she said. "It's very, very important. Babies would be even safer in the womb and at birth if the father and the mother are there united, working together to raise them."
"You are right to point out that fatherlessness is not just in the African-American community," Campos-Duffy replied. "It has become a cultural epidemic."
Editor's Note:
