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Coretta Scott King, 1928-2006
Last week, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King quietly slipped from the bonds of this life. Today is her funeral which will be attended by current and past Presidents of the United States in acknowledgement of her role along that of her husband, civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
She was mother, wife, partner, civil rights and women's rights movement leader and a widely admired public icon in her own right.
Mrs. King had many rich and wonderful qualities, and I don't know how she fit them all in that small frame and deceptively delicate body. A true steel magnolia, long before the phrase was first spoke, and the play ever written.
There have been many obituaries written and heartfelt tributes to her from across the world today, but when I think of Mrs. King, I think of how she carried on the work of equality that she began with her husband, after her husband's tragic death.
Mrs. King became an outspoken supporter of gay rights. In 1994, she gave a speech in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. She saw gay rights as an extension, a furtherence of the concept of equality for all, saying this:
I support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 because I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On another occasion he said, “I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.” Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.
So I see this bill as a step forward for freedom and human rights in our country and a logical extension of the Bill of Rights and the civil rights reforms of the 1950’s and ‘60’s.
The great promise of American democracy is that no group of people will be forced to suffer discrimination and injustice. I believe that this legislation will provide protection to a large group of working people, who have suffered persecution and discrimination for many years. To this endeavor, I pledge my wholehearted support.
Coretta Scott King, we miss you already. Rest in peace.
"Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul."
- Coretta Scott King
Thanks for writing about Coretta Scott King.
I have heard and read that she could connect with many types of audiences and had a very committed and active political life even before meeting her life partner, Martin Luther King.
quote for today:
" We can't let the ruling fools of the dying world sustain their curses. We have to rise up and fight their insane logic; defy, resist and prevent their tragic magic; unleash our sacred rage."
Rob Brezsny
author of
Pronoia Is the Antidote to Paranoia
There is a bitter irony about Coretta Scott King's body lying in state in Georgia's Capitol while Alberto Gonzales recites his well-scripted response to questions by the Senate Judiciary. Think about where we have been and where we're headed, and the thought of Coretta King's passing becomes even more poignant.
When we think about what the Voting Rights Act was about, and how many people fought and died for it, we can't think in terms of race anymore. The right to vote in 2004 was jeopardized, and undermined--affecting all of us.
Now we are all in the same boat. This is the spiritual core of what Rev. King and Coretta Scott King--true partners in the fight for civil rights, wanted us to see--what hurts some demeans all. The fight for equality is everyone's fight.
Now its in the electronic voting machines that produce dubious results, its in the laws that CONTINUE to discriminate against the poor, its about a public education system that is a machine for the military or prison, while health and welfare for children, youth and elderly are cut to non-existence. In effect, they are telling all of us: You are expendable.
The fight for civil rights is now global: not just by race, but by religion, by age, by economic status. This is the dream, now deferred, soon to be destroyed. If we can't see it now, when will we?
Today I pray and hope the void created by Coretta King's death is filled with a hungry fervor for justice that exceeds even the history of fervor behind it. The stakes now are incredibly high. We need everyone for the fight.
Amen to all above.
The deposit of divine wisdom, the integrity of Martin Luther King Jr.'s short life, was carried on through his widow Coretta Scott King. As she lies in her resting place, may we cry out for the kind of justice and equality that they lived and died for. Truly magnificent humble people who sought to right the wrongs in peaceful ways.
MLK Jr.'s life may have been brief, but the deposit he brought and left here was magnificently powerful - it can never be destroyed.
Today I would like to thank them both for standing for what they knew was true - equality for all men, regardless of creed or color. And now we may add, as Fe said so eloquently, so many other discriminations that are so anti human worth and dignity: age and health status, an unwillingness to let one's brain die and roll over and recite mantra that is a farce and destructive to it's core.
Truth and justice are on the march, folks. They left a deposit and a legacy that will NEVER die.
Thank you both, and may you rest in peace.
Right on - nice to read that (at lunch), Fe!!
Well said!!
Speaking of well said....
In a prepared speech advanced to RAW STORY, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) will sear President Bush -- and Congress -- on the Senate floor over Bush's warrantless wiretap domestic spying program.
Feingold's speech, in its entirety, follows:
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Mr. President, last week the President of the United States gave his State of the Union address, where he spoke of America’s leadership in the world, and called on all of us to “lead this world toward freedom.” Again and again, he invoked the principle of freedom, and how it can transform nations, and empower people around the world.
But, almost in the same breath, the President openly acknowledged that he has ordered the government to spy on Americans, on American soil, without the warrants required by law.
The President issued a call to spread freedom throughout the world, and then he admitted that he has deprived Americans of one of their most basic freedoms under the Fourth Amendment -- to be free from unjustified government intrusion.
The President was blunt. He said that he had authorized the NSA’s domestic spying program, and he made a number of misleading arguments to defend himself. His words got rousing applause from Republicans, and even some Democrats.
The President was blunt, so I will be blunt: This program is breaking the law, and this President is breaking the law. Not only that, he is misleading the American people in his efforts to justify this program.
How is that worthy of applause? Since when do we celebrate our commander in chief for violating our most basic freedoms, and misleading the American people in the process? When did we start to stand up and cheer for breaking the law? In that moment at the State of the Union, I felt ashamed.
Congress has lost its way if we don’t hold this President accountable for his actions.
The President suggests that anyone who criticizes his illegal wiretapping program doesn’t understand the threat we face. But we do. Every single one of us is committed to stopping the terrorists who threaten us and our families.
Defeating the terrorists should be our top national priority, and we all agree that we need to wiretap them to do it. In fact, it would be irresponsible not to wiretap terrorists. But we have yet to see any reason why we have to trample the laws of the United States to do it. The President’s decision that he can break the law says far more about his attitude toward the rule of law than it does about the laws themselves.
This goes way beyond party, and way beyond politics. What the President has done here is to break faith with the American people. In the State of the Union, he also said that “we must always be clear in our principles” to get support from friends and allies that we need to fight terrorism. So let’s be clear about a basic American principle: When someone breaks the law, when someone misleads the public in an attempt to justify his actions, he needs to be held accountable. The President of the United States has broken the law. The President of the United States is trying to mislead the American people. And he needs to be held accountable.
more... http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Feingold_President_breaking_law_0207.html
It is a little awkward using King's death to remind people that her husband was under constant surveillance (and harrassment?) by the FBI. I believe his phones were tapped and his conversations recorded. I even believe that the FBI had spies in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to keep tabs on King's every move. It was this kind of abuse of government power, in part, that led to the FISA act.
ralpheh:
That's what I mean about bitter irony in the juxtaposition of these two events.
ralph,
good point!