I
awoke to the sound of CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on Tuesday, Jan.
30. “This just in — we’ve got some breaking news here — the
widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott
King, has died.”
I rolled over and stared at the television as a mix of sadness and disbelief
washed over me. I flashed back to the last time I spoke with King at the
Peachtree Center Athletic Club in Atlanta. We were both in workout clothes
but she was decidedly less sweaty and rumpled then I was. I had no way
of knowing it would be the last time we would ever speak.
She knew I was part of the press and we had talked before on a few ocassions
at various events — but I didn’t know her that well. I told
her I had recently interviewed her son Martin for the publication I was
editor of at the time.
“I saw that,” she said with a smile. “That was a nice
piece.”
I thanked her for the compliment, made some quick joke about how she held
up much better during a workout then I did and headed for the shower.
I was always a little bit awestruck when I crossed paths with King — she
was an ardent supporter of the LGBT community and had genuinely lived through
some of the most important moments of American history.
And now she’s gone. We’ll never hear her melodious voice resonate
with words that call for equality for all again. I am profoundly affected
by her loss.
Rev. Al Sharpton most succintly captured the sentiment I felt in a press
release later that morning:
“Her death was a monumental loss to the nation and the world at large,” Sharpton
said.”She was truly the first lady of the human rights movement.
The only thing worse than losing her would be if we never had her.”
College portrait of Coretta Scott, sometime around
1945.
Over the years King had spoken out in support of gay and lesbian rights
on numerous occassions. In 1998 — speaking to a Reuters reporter
just a few days before the 30th anniversary of her husband’s assassination,
Mrs. King said the civil rights leader’s memory demanded a strong
stand for gay and lesbian rights.” I still hear people say that I
should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I
should stick to the issue of racial justice,” she said. “But
I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ “I appeal to everyone
who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the
table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”
Later that year, in Chicago, at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, King called
on the civil rights community to join in the struggle against homophobia
and anti-gay bias. “Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and
other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of
people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood,” King
stated. “This sets the stage for further repression and violence
that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group.”
Also in 1998, King spoke at the 25th Anniversary Luncheon for the Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund. “For many years now, I have been
an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people.
Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany,
Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights
Movement,” she said. “Many of these courageous men and women
were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices
for their own, and I salute their contributions.”
At NGLTF’s Creating Change Conference in Atlanta in November of 2000,
King said to a packed house: “We have a lot more work to do in our
common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say ‘common
struggle’ because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry
and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking
Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation
is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as
freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.”
Of course most of us in the LGBT community are aware of her support for
same-sex marriage — she responded to President Bush’s call
for a federal marriage amendment as nothing short of bigotry and intolerance.
“Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should
have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union,” King
said. “A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a
form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional
marriages.”
King was perhaps the greatest straight ally the LGBT community has ever
known. In light of her passing and other world developments of late — from
Samuel Alito’s confirmation to the continuing struggle in the Middle
East, it’s hard for many of us — including myself — to
see a light at the end of the tunnel.
These words from Coretta Scott King — spoken in a 1970 press conference — offer
consolation in this difficult time: “Many despair at all the evil
and unrest and disorder in the world today — but I see a new social
order and I see the dawn of a new day.”
I hope the LGBT community sees that soon. I just wish Mrs. King could have
been here to see it with us.
David Moore Editor
Want more Editor's Note? Click here for an archived listing.
<
