Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has weighed in on Vice President JD Vance’s recent remarks at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest.
She is challenging the notion put forth by JD Vance that white Americans need no accountability for historical and systemic advantages.
Vance, speaking at the event in Phoenix over the weekend, stated, “In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore.”
He spoke about white Americans as unfairly burdened by calls for accountability and sought to point out the enduring role of Christianity as the nation’s moral foundation.
The event also featured Nicki Minaj, whose comments sparked debate around Black pride and self-esteem, particularly among Black women and girls.
Reacting on social media, King, 62, called attention to the unequal burden of accountability in America.
“Help me with this,” she wrote. “In my 62 years, I don’t recall white people ever having to apologize for being white in America.” She continued, “The courage to tell the truth about the advantages white people have had in this country is the real issue. It’s time to stop reframing accountability as injury and start reckoning honestly with history, power, and responsibility—so we can move toward repair, justice, and a shared future where dignity is not selective.”
King’s statements come amid rising tensions in the United States over how race, privilege, and accountability are discussed in public life.
Critics argue that Vance’s framing risks recasting historical inequities and systemic racism as moral burdens placed unfairly on white Americans, while downplaying the lived experiences and structural disadvantages faced by people of color.
A day after her initial post, King returned to social media to stress the need for meaningful engagement rather than superficial optimism.
“Hope, for me, is a commitment, not a cliché,” she wrote. “I refuse to offer people shallow optimism dressed up as hope.”
King’s response forms part of ongoing debates about race, privilege, and moral responsibility in contemporary America.
