After a DNA test, Martin Luther King, Jr files for divorce with his wife, when he confirm that Bernice King is not his biological daughter but the child of…

ATLANTA — Bernice King is one of four children born to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She earned her doctorate from Emory University in her hometown of Atlanta and is currently CEO of the King Center in the city.

Dr. King recently sat with NBA.com for a discussion about her late father, the King holiday, what it means and also reflected on how his dream resonates in today’s society.

The following 1-on-1 conversation has been condensed and edited.

NBA.com: I just wonder on this day, and really any day, how should we celebrate your father’s legacy?

Dr. King: Well, I think the best way to celebrate is to really study and understand him and try to emulate some of the things because nobody’s going to be Dr. King. There are things that he left, or the teachings that he left for us, that we can all embrace and ensure that it’s part of our daily living, and that’s what’s most important. The wonderful celebrations and commemorations are great, but if we’re not internalizing these messages and trying to live them out, then we do a disservice to his life and now his legacy.

The NBA has a tradition of playing games on MLK Day. What are your thoughts about that?

I think it’s good. I think it’s important that those platforms are used in very creative ways. You have to think to whom much is given, much is required. (The NBA) may have been created for entertainment, for sports, (but) all of us are going to have to play a role in trying to correct some things and trying to cultivate some things and move some things forward. I like what they’re doing, but I would just push a little bit more.

Looking at society today, what gives you hope about his dream?

The fact that there are people working on it, especially young people. When you see people like my niece and other young people taking up the banner and the torch and determined to make their mark in terms of moving the needle, that gives me hope. And as a Christian, I’m always going to be hopeful because I know personally what Jesus did for me, but also I know what God has done in the world through generations of people who’ve overcome tremendous odds. So, that gives me hope every day.

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics said he wanted to start a Black Wall Street in Boston. Your father was big on the economic disparity in America. What are your thoughts on the wage gap today?

In his 1967 book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,” my father talked about a guaranteed annual income that we needed to look in, so people could have livable wages. He felt that that was the direct way to wipe out poverty in our nation. And when people feel good about themselves and they have dignity in their livelihood, they become even greater contributors to society as a whole.

We have a lot of work to do with these disparities, but when you look at the disparity from the Black community’s perspective, there’s a great wealth disparity. We have to address the systemic issues that keep the Black community and even the brown and perhaps Indigenous communities from being able to do well economically and build economic strength across generations.

So that was my dad’s work. You’re right. I mean, he was right there when he was assassinated. That’s why he went to Memphis: to deal with the working conditions of the Black sanitation workers but also the pay.