Truth And Justice
by Libby Post

I was ten years old when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.I remember the sadness that permeated my house. My parents weren’t well off but they gave money to King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

I remember writing a poem about King which made the rounds in my elementary school eventually making it to a display in the library. I remember thinking that it was now up to each of us to carry on the fight against injustice.

There has been no single leader quite like King in any social justice movement. However, for those of us who do speak out against injustice of any kind King’s legacy, whether we recognize it or not, is part of the work we do.

As the nation paused this past Monday to remember the man, it was also a time for us to remember the woman—Coretta Scott King—who, in her own right, was a force for civil rights for all human beings. Outliving her husband close to four decades, Mrs. King certainly carried on his work but as her own person, in her own way.

Mrs. King was an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, including marriage equality. She took the Radical Christian Right to task for their on-going attacks on our humanity. She made the connection between the on-going struggles for racial equality and LGBT civil rights. The 30th anniversary of her husband’s assassination found Mrs. King in the news. Reuters quoted her as saying “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. 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.”

Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Mrs. King reaffirmed her commitment to LGBT rights by again using her husband’s words who said “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allow to be what you ought to be.” Mrs. King went on to say “I’ve always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all American who believe in democracy.”

At that event, Mrs. King also pointed out that gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in Albany, Georgia, in St. Augustine, Florida and many other civil rights campaigns of the 1960s. 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.”

In fact, Bayard Rustin, one of Dr. King’s closest advisors and the architect of the 1963 March on Washington, was an openly gay man who was the object of derision by many of the others who surrounded King. But King stood his ground and didn’t distance himself from Rustin—a political decision called for by many including President Kennedy and New York City Congressman Adam Clayton Powell.

Mrs. King endured the wrath of conservative African-American clergy for making the connection between racism and homophobia. The clergy were swayed by Karl Rove’s political tactics to drive a wedge between two communities who share a common burden—hateful discrimination. Rove used the same-sex marriage issue to bolster President Bush’s support in the African-American community—it was only after Hurricane Katrina did many of those same supporters realize they had been taken for an electoral ride.

But as far as Mrs. King was concerned marriage equality was a basic civil right. She was quoted in USA saying “Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriage.”

The likelihood of naming a national holiday for Mrs. King is slim to none. But since she and Dr. King were married in June, perhaps the creative forces in the LGBT community can come up with a way to celebrate their lives together and the love we want to legally share. After all, their struggle for justice is the truth that is the foundation of our work for full equality.

©365Gay.com 2007