Civil rights activist Martin Luther King III has slammed North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson (R) in a new ad accusing him of rejecting the civil rights movement led by his fathers and others.
The ad, released by the liberal-leaning group Progress NC Action, shows King discussing comments Robinson made about the movement and his father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Robinson, who currently serves as North Carolina's lieutenant governor, is running for the Republican nomination for governor against state Attorney General Josh Stein (Democrat).
In one ad, King rejected comparisons between his father and Robinson, saying the “blatant bigotry” reinforced by Robinson and former President Trump ran counter to what his father called “a beloved community, a world built on peace and justice.”
“Let me be very clear: my father will be terribly disappointed in Mark Robinson,” King said.
In another post, he said Robinson “repeatedly mocked my father,” but was more troubled by Robinson's “blatant rejection of the civil rights movement for which my father and so many others risked their lives.” He pointed to comments in which Robinson called the lunch counter protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, an “absurd premise” and claimed freedoms were actually lost during the civil rights movement.
“As my father said, 'There is nothing more dangerous than wholehearted ignorance and conscientious stupidity,'” King said.
Robinson has made a variety of controversial statements throughout his career, including derogatory remarks about Jews, Muslims, transgender people and black Americans who vote Democratic.
The Hill has reached out to Robinson's campaign for comment on the ad.
In a statement to USA Today, his communications director, Mike Lonergan, said the organization that placed the ad was “another far-left political group promoting extremism.”
“They are completely out of step with the people of North Carolina and are trying desperately to cover up the racist smears made by Joe Biden, Josh Stein and the Democratic Party,” Lonergan told the outlet.
The nonpartisan election forecasting site Cook Political Report rates the race as a “50-50” chance.