Yolanda Renee King has officially earned her first “I voted” sticker!
The only grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr., who celebrated her 18th birthday in May, shared a special milestone on Instagram on Tuesday, November 3. The teenager revealed that she had cast her very first ballot during the November midterm elections.
In a joint Instagram post with When We All Vote, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing voter participation, Yolanda shared a photograph of herself proudly wearing an “I voted” sticker after visiting the polling station. Other pictures showed her walking to and from the polling place alongside her parents and displaying the sticker with excitement.
“My grandparents had their fight. My parents had theirs. This one is mine. People bled for this right. I’m not going to waste it,” Yolanda wrote in the caption.
When We All Vote praised Yolanda for drawing inspiration from her grandparents’ legacy while creating a path of her own. The organization also shared her message encouraging other first-time voters across the country to participate.
“Empowered is an understatement. The baton is in our hands. Polls are still open, so go use it,” she said.
“This is for my grandparents. Thanks mom and dad for leading me!” Yolanda added in another post.
Yolanda Renee King Describes Her First Voting Experience
During an interview with Essence GU, which she later shared on her Instagram Stories, Yolanda described casting her first ballot as both “so rewarding” and a “full circle moment.”
“I think the fact that I actually made the contribution and it was like, it was like personal,” she explained. “Because before then I would have to encourage those around me to vote. My vote was represented through my parents, through friends, through family.”
“And now, it’s like I can actually go and I can speak for myself,” she continued. “Which as somebody who — I really like the hands-on process of a lot of things — that was something that was really special for me.”
In a separate conversation with CNN, Yolanda explained that her parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, had taught her about the importance of voting from an early age.
“They would take me to the polls, and so I [would]… see that growing up,” she recalled. “And then I remember feeling really sad because I realized, ‘Oh, I can’t participate in the voting,’ and so then that would make me really sad, and they’d always give me the ‘I just voted’ sticker. So I’d go around parading around and pretending like I just voted.”
Yolanda Reflects on Her Grandfather’s Legacy
During her Essence GU interview, Yolanda was also asked how she believed her grandfather’s vision connected with her experience as a first-time voter.
“Unfortunately, the reality is he would be disappointed in, I think, the world that I and my generation have inherited, but I think also he would be very proud to see that we have a youth that is very, very vocal.”
She also expressed confidence in the younger generation and its ability to make a difference.
“I feel like we are a force not to be reckoned with,” she added.
