Bernice King Takes Over SCLC, Will She Renounce Anti-Gay Bigotry?

In August, Rod 2.0 reported the Rev. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and a well-fundamentalist minister and anti-gay activist, was being considered to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization founded by her father more than five decades ago. On Friday King was named the first woman to lead the SCLC in its 52 year history.

King is a minister at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, headed by obsessively homophobic Bishop Eddie Long. The two organized a 2004 march against same-sex marriage in Atlanta that attracted thousands. Writing at The Daily Voice, Earl Ofari Hutchinson says Bernice King must renounce her anti-gay bigotry and lead the SCLC in a new direction.

That bigotry was on shameful and insulting display in December 2004 when she and thousands of marchers stood at the gravesite of her father, Martin Luther King, Jr., and denounced gay marriage. The implication was that King might well have stood with her and them in their protest against gay rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. King's fight against bigotry and discrimination, all bigotry and discrimination, was relentless and uncompromising. If anything that day, King would have been across the street from his gravesite with the hundred or so other counter-demonstrators. They loudly shouted that what Bernice and the marchers were doing at her father's gravesite and in his name, was a travesty and a disgrace. King sullied her father's name to show her enmity to gay marriage. She also sullied her mother's too. A few years before Bernice's gravesite antic, Coretta Scott King issued a public statement forcefully denouncing anti-gay bigotry and made it perfectly clear that her husband would be a champion of gay rights if he were alive. 

On its website SCLC clearly says "its mission is to challenge all people of good will, of every persuasion, who believe in the principles espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. to join us." Presumably that's the mission of its new president. She can prove it is by publicly renouncing her anti-gay bigotry.

The SCLC recently made headlines when its national leadership attempted to oust the Rev. Eric Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter, over his support of same-sex marriage and efforts to fight Prop 8. Thankfully that motion didn't prevail.

Despite its much-storied history, the SCLC is barely a blip on the current civil rights radar. If Bernice King does not renounce her bigotry and move the SCLC into a progressive direction, the organization will become even more irrelevant.

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Will Anti-Gay Rev. Bernice King Become SCLC's Next President?

Comments

[FREELEO]

BOOOOOOO!

[Jacob Williams]

Oh please her fat ass aint renouncing nothing but a healthy diet. She been against gays ever since i can remember and its a shame to because her momma fought for gay rights before she past away. its like she's undoing everything coretta fought for. damn i miss that woman. she nothing like her mother or father. damn hateful bish

[Kevjack]

Bennie has serious problems. And the SCLC has been irrelevant for some time. Let's hope that the damage she can do (and she will try to do some damage) is minimal.

[Byron]

I dunno. I kinda hope that she can do considerable damage ... to the SCLC.

As noted, the organization's relevance in today's world has been waning fast. Even conservatives look elsewhere when they need a token Black face.

Best thing that can happen is she puts the organization out of its -- and everyone else's -- misery.

[Anthony in Nashville]

I never thought about Bernice being family until I started reading people's comments to her new position.

I'm not sure this will register as more than a blip on the radar since most people think the SCLC went away in the 60s.

The x-factor is if she does something sensational to align the SCLC with homophobic churches in order to "teach Eric Lee a lesson."

[TheRevKev]

WAIT!?

Did hell freeze over? Sad to say it but I don't trust her to renounce anything! If anything, she'll ramp up HER RHETORIC!

We'll see!

[Mad Professah]

Sad to say it, but I don't think she's going to change her homophobic tune at this point in her life and career.

And, umm, how can I say this nicely?

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

You know what I'm sayin'?

[Reggieh]

While I do agree that King should renounce her previous statements -- and I'm NOT holding my breath for that to happen -- I also have to say "The SCLC? Is THAT still around?"

[kayman]

I doubt it seriously. I know the Birmingham chapter of the SCLC is a joke because the current president were supporting the now ousted mayor Larry Langford. She will likely continue with her foolishness and probably further make the organization irrelevant.

Such ashame considering the legacy it has...

[Barton]

@ Mad Professah
I am with you.
He,I mean she is a SCLC DL 4COL.
Boo. Hiss.
Continuation of the organization's sad state.

[DFS]

Im so hateful....but when Yolanda died I was like, why her, why couldn't.....

[Honut SInti]

She should get b**ch slapped by her brother Dexter.

[Jim]

No, Honut. Dexter needs to be slapped for being more concerned about his facials, his manicures, and the cut of his Milanese topcoats than anything else in life.

[Honut SInti]

@Jim

I bow gracefully to your greater insight ;)