Gayle King on Why 'I Have Hope’

The country's current unrest has become a personal struggle for even longtime news veterans like Gayle King.

The anchor of CBS This Morning says the killing of George Floyd while in the hands of Minneapolis police — which has sparked nationwide protests — opened wounds for her and her family.

“My daughter Kirby (34) and son Will (33) are haunted too,” she tells PEOPLE in the latest issue. “We were all up at 4 a.m. recently just talking, because this is so painful.”

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Will’s safety is a constant concern. “I worry when my son goes to walk his dog in the Santa Monica area, which is nice, because you see how ordinary things can turn deadly so quickly.”

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Still, King, 65, says, “I have hope. For the first time you see a very diverse crowd marching shoulder to shoulder, teenagers and 20-somethings challenging their parents. Young people are speaking up. Look at the bestsellers list — nine out of the Top 10 are about race. There’s coast-to-coast solidarity.”

She adds, “I do think I’m changed too. But I’m not going to let this pain take away from having an open heart to all things. I still have that."

"In America, we have an opportunity here to do better and be better,” says King.