Before my mother was a King, she was a gifted vocalist and musician, whose skill and academia garnered her a scholarship to the prestigious New England Conservatory for Music in Boston.

With The King Center as her base, my mother pressed on to fulfill a role that changed lives and legislation. She was a woman who refused to surrender the reigns of what she knew to be her assignment, even when male civil rights and business leaders tried to convince her that she should leave the work of building her husband's legacy to them.

Before she was a King, my mother was a peace advocate, a courageous leader, and an accomplished artist.

My mother made countless sacrifices so that her children - and all children - could grow up in a better nation and world.

My mother was the strong wife, partner, and co-worker Martin Luther King, Jr. needed to be an effective leader, and he said so on many occasions.

In 1985, I joined my mother in a protest against apartheid in which we were arrested at the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. And she was at President-elect Mandela's side in Johannesburg when he claimed victory in South Africa's first free elections.

Among her many accomplishments, my mother is often identified as the leader of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday movement.

Environmental injustice is a tangible, intolerable example of an exhibited moral laxity and minimal concern for healthy standards by corporations and political structures based on the race, ethnicity, and class of those being impacted.

Somehow, we have to realize that what we watch and what we listen to not only often reflects our most violent tendencies but cultivates more violence.

Nonviolence as a lifestyle and perpetual strategy will allow us to be on the offense instead of continually on the defense. We will be able to move the ball down the field with team decisions and playmaking versus constantly thinking about how the opposing forces are moving the ball.

Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.

You will encounter misguided people from time to time. That's part of life. The challenge is to educate them when you can, but always to keep your dignity and self-respect and persevere in your personal growth and development.

Refuse to be disheartened, discouraged, distracted from your goals in life.

Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations.

Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice. There are people of good will of all races, religions, and nations who will join you in common quest for the betterment of society.

Like my father, I believe that nonviolence is the antidote to what he called 'the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism.' These three evils were consuming our hopes for community in 1964, and, fifty years later, we remain divided because of their festering effects.

Consider all of the possibilities for positive global progress if we utilized nonviolence as the central value of our culture, encompassing our law enforcement and labor practices, which currently include people in numerous nations working for inhumane wages in unhealthy conditions.

We must rediscover our faith in the future and join with one another to ensure that nonviolence is the prevalent choice for government, law enforcement, the non-profit sector, business, education, media, entertainment, arts, and for the global citizenry.

It is time for humanity to reset our spiritual compass from self-centeredness to other-centeredness.

Police departments across the nation must develop nonviolent 'rules of engagement,' so that they don't reflexively respond to suspected crimes with violence. This will require more in-depth training in the behavioral psychology of conflict resolution so police have tried-and-true techniques of preventing and de-escalating violence.

In addition to a stronger focus on better training for law enforcement, America urgently needs programs to provide jobs and educational opportunities in economically depressed communities.

We can put millions of America's idle young people to work helping to repair and restore America's deteriorating infrastructure, public utilities, and transportation systems. Nothing would revitalize the nation's sagging economy more than such a commitment.

After acknowledging that most law enforcement personnel are fair-minded and do a difficult job, it only takes one exception to create a terrible tragedy.

If I had to do it all over again, would I want my dad here? I would say no. Our world is in a better place because our father gave his life.

When I think about some of the policies that we make in this country, the policies are so self-driven.

I believe that everyone, regardless of their beliefs, deserves the dignity of being called by their name.

As you know, my father was for the inclusiveness and the betterment of society and the world. Certainly we recognize that there are diverse voices in our country, and people have the right of free speech. They have the right of choice, but again, it is our hope that when they choose, they choose to reflect those ideals that he taught us.

I think the most pressing issue in our community is probably a generational divide.

Institutionalized racism has been with us pre-Obama, and it obviously will be with us post-Obama.

One person cannot be blamed for years of problems as it relates to race in America. This is something that has been with us since the founding of this nation. I mean, we were founded with slaves.

I wrestled with anger from the age of sixteen. It's still one of my nemeses. I have to remember that the word of God says, 'Be slow to anger.'

If people want to criticize me, that's their issue.

The more you resist something, the more aggressive it becomes.

Without my ministry, I would just be Martin Luther King's daughter. You know, when people call me that, it doesn't bother me anymore. I know I am not my father. I know I am me.

Occasionally, in the afternoons, I catch a movie, watch football, go to Sunday brunch, or visit with family and friends.

When I speak, I want to ensure that there is at least one person in the audience who leaves the room transformed.

Some of the aspects of my speaking style are inherited and come naturally to me. I didn't take classes, and I didn't do anything to hone my skills.

I spend a lot of time meditating, which is something that I don't think most people know about me.

People have labeled me homophobic. If I was homophobic, I wouldn't have friends who are gay and lesbian, so that can't be true.

I know that the absence of my father in my life had its cost.

My father literally fought his entire life to ensure the inclusion of all people because he understood that we were intertwined and connected together in humanity.

Trump's election could be a blessing in disguise. This is the opportunity for America to correct itself.

Don't be afraid of who sits in the White House. God can triumph over Trump.

I don't know if you realize this, but anger is anger. It has no mind. It has no rationality. It's mad, and it just wants to destroy.

My mother and Ethel Kennedy became good friends and worked together on a number of causes they had shared with their husbands. They together co-chaired 'A Time to Remember' to mobilize a movement for gun control.

My first introduction to South Africa's struggle for freedom came when I was just 17. I had volunteered to speak in my mother's stead at a United Nations forum on South Africa because she was unable to attend on that occasion.

In 1985, I was arrested, along with my mother and brother, Martin III, in a protest against apartheid at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In my view, it was no accident that Nelson Mandela was chosen by God to lead the people of South Africa. There are very few people who could be imprisoned, kept away from their family and loved ones, and exit that same prison with such a powerful spirit of love and a desire for reconciliation.

Nelson Mandela, a better man, not a bitter man, made our world a better place in which to live. His life and leadership exemplify the highest courage, dignity, and dedication to human liberation.

As I reflect on the legacy of my father, the greatest aspect is his legacy of peace.