A meme shared by Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has gone viral.
The image placed conservative activist Charlie Kirk alongside Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus, with the words “All Because of Words” written underneath. The idea behind the picture was to suggest that Kirk, who was recently killed, belongs in the same category as these historic leaders who were assassinated.
Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. King, was one of the first to call it out. She tweeted, “There are so many things wrong with this. So many. I get tired, y’all.” Her response struck a chord, as many online echoed her frustration and disbelief at the comparison.
For critics, the problem is simple: the legacies don’t match. Lincoln, Kennedy, King, and Jesus are remembered for their sacrifice and their life’s work for justice, civil rights, or spiritual guidance. Kirk, while influential among conservatives, spent years pushing back against the very movements that MLK fought for. He even publicly criticized Dr. King in the past, calling him “awful” and opposing the Civil Rights Act. To many, placing Kirk in the same portrait as those icons disrespects their sacrifices and minimizes what they stood for.
People across social media didn’t hold back. Some said the meme was “a slap in the face” to the legacy of Dr. King. Others pointed out that the historic figures shown in the image were targeted because they challenged systems of injustice, while Kirk often positioned himself against those struggles.
For Bernice King, this isn’t new. She has spoken out repeatedly when politicians use her father’s image or words without respecting the full weight of his mission. This new comparison seems to have banger a breaking point.
At its core, the controversy is about respect and legacy. Who deserves to be remembered as a martyr, and what happens when powerful figures use those images to advance their own narrative?
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