Yolanda Renee King, the only grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, cast her first-ever ballot in Atlanta during the 2026 midterm elections, traveling back from her social justice studies at Columbia University in New York City to vote alongside her parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, the Los Angeles Times reported.
But now I think it’s so special that I have a say.”
A first vote in Atlanta
King has spent the year urging fellow teenagers to register and turn out, through media appearances, Instagram and a speech at the Lincoln Memorial in August marking the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington, where she addressed a “Defend the Vote” rally, Yahoo News reported. She is also the author of the 2024 children’s book We Dream a World: Carrying the Light From My Grandparents.
The August rally held particular weight for her: she spoke at the same place, on the same day, where her grandfather delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. In an op-ed published by Teen Vogue, she wrote that the moment “wasn’t just about using my voice; it was about my first vote. And it felt like my grandparents were right there with me, whispering: ‘It’s your turn.’”
Fifty million young voters
Yolanda Renee King, the 18-year-old and only grandchild of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, voted for the first time on November 3 in Atlanta, Georgia, alongside her parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King. pic.twitter.com/x76CgEogMt
An op-ed for her generation
She was careful to place those struggles alongside, not above, her grandparents’ era. “This doesn’t take anything away from what came before us,” she wrote. “My grandparents’ generation faced segregation, violence, and jail cells, and their challenges were staggering. But our time is ours, and so is what we feel living through it.”
A family at the polls
Martin Luther King III commented on the post, recalling his own father’s words: “My father said, ‘A voteless people is a powerless people.’” He noted that when Yolanda was small, the family took her to the polls, where she wore their “I voted” stickers and pretended to vote herself. He added that she shared on CNN why she is ready to use her own voice, “especially now that the Voting Rights Act has been hollowed out. There is nothing more powerful than our vote.”
Asked what comes next, King kept the focus on the work ahead. “I want to lead the way they did,” she said. “But know I am still learning.”
More on Yolanda Renee King
Yolanda Renee King, the 18-year-old and ONLY grandchild of civil rights legends Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has officially cast her FIRST VOTE in the 2026 Midterm Elections! On November 3, Yolanda walked into a polling location in Atlanta, Georgia,… pic.twitter.com/DH0vDabBLH
Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, voted for the first time on Election Day Tuesday. The 18-year-old Columbia University political science major went home to Georgia to cast her first vote. "I feel like I made my… pic.twitter.com/8APQ3thz9j”
