Sen. Raphael Warnock reflects on MLK's legacy, continuing battle for civil rights

As the nation honored the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with acts of service, some civil rights leaders and elected officials say there is still work to be done to give equal rights to all Americans.

Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who also preaches at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Georgia where King also preached, has been raising this issue in Congress.

He joined ABC News Live's Linsey Davis to discuss King's legacy and race in America.

ABC NEWS LIVE: Senator, thanks so much for coming on the show and marking this day with us. I just want to dive right in here. Simply put, do you believe the United States has realized the vision Dr. King had discussed with regard to racial reconciliation and the "beloved community?"

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Thank you so very much. That work is a work in progress. In fact, Dr. King, when he reflected on his own work, used to talk about it in terms of unfinished business. And there is no question, that his work has changed the world. I was born a year after Dr. King's death. The year I was born, Georgia was represented by two segregationist senators. They were effective, but they were segregationists. And, one of them said that we loved the Negro in his place, and his place is at the back door. Well, I sit in his seat, and that is a result of Dr. King's work, and yet there is so much more work for us to do.

ABC NEWS LIVE: And what do you say to people who, though, argue that look, we're living in a post-racial America? Many people, of course, pointed to that when President Barack Obama became president. Do you disagree? Even Nikki Haley, obviously, who's running now for president, has said that America is not a racist country.

SEN. WARNOCK: Listen, America, like all families has a complicated story. Ours is a complicated American story. And when we are not honest about that, it becomes very difficult to make progress.

One of the amazing things is that Dr. King, who was a Black man born in 1929 on the other side of the racial veil, raised in a Black community and a Black church, [and] grew to become perhaps the most profound and articulate spokesperson for something called the American Dream. Nobody could speak about it more eloquently than him.

And now it's up to us to continue that hard work, but we've got to be honest about what we confront in order to make progress.

ABC NEWS LIVE: What's your response when you hear other elected leaders attacking critical race theory, "wokeism," dismantling DEI or casting doubt on the need for racial justice in this country?

SEN. WARNOCK: I think there are politicians who spend a lot of time doing sort of tests of certain words that they think will evoke a certain kind of response. It is politics in the most cynical and jaded sense of the word.

And so, I'm aware of the challenges that confront us, but I really do remain hopeful. And perhaps just because not only do I serve in the pulpit of Martin Luther King Jr., I was [Congressman] John Lewis' pastor, and John Lewis had no reason if you think about it, crossing that Edmund Pettus Bridge. He didn't have any reason to believe that he could win with the forces of sheer brutality on the other side. And they were on the side of the law. He was on the side of truth.

You cannot honor Dr. King while at the same time denying God's children access to fair housing, dealing with the issue of job discrimination in this moment, [and] dealing with the issue of voting rights. If you would remember him, you cannot allow those who would dismember his legacy to do so without real resistance. And that's work I'm committed to every single day in the United States Senate, in my pulpit and in the streets.

ABC NEWS LIVE: I would like to discuss a little bit more that ongoing work for civil rights and reconciliation, in particular, John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that you plan to introduce in a couple months.

SEN. WARNOCK: Yeah. A few months ago, I reintroduced the Freedom to Vote Act, which makes every effort to make sure that every eligible American has access to the ballot. And, shortly within the next couple of months, I anticipate reintroducing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

And, I remain hopeful that that we will get voting rights done sooner than later. We've got to make sure that the people's voices can be heard in their own democracy.