Coretta Scott King: Homophobia Same as Racism

“All forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere,” the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. told activists gathered for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 13th annual Creating Change conference. She continued: “I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”

Following are the remarks made by Coretta Scott King at the opening plenary session of the 13th annual Creating Change conference, organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in Atlanta on November 9. (Some of Mrs. King’s introductory greetings upon taking the podium have been omitted.)

I think we all need a few days to recuperate from the stress-filled election we have just experienced, but not much more, because 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.

My husband, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny…an inescapable network of mutuality.… I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.” Therefore, I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.

In addition to this fundamental moral principle, there is a very practical reason why people involved in human rights should support each other and work together. And that reason is that the whole of us united makes us stronger than the sum of our parts. This principle of synergy is eloquently summed up in the equation “One plus one equals three.” In other words, there are things we achieve together that we can’t achieve separately.

In a way, we have just had an object lesson in the power of coalition unity. And I think we have just seen the future of American democracy flash before our eyes last Tuesday. The coalition that gave Al Gore a popular majority can surely be as powerful as the New Deal coalition that transformed America in an earlier era.

So what comes next for the NGLTF, the King Center, and indeed all organizations working for human rights and social justice must be a new emphasis on working together in coalitions. With this commitment, we can pass comprehensive hate crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and secure full funding for AIDS research, prevention, and treatment. We can defend affirmative action and support a broad range of common legislative and policy priorities.

It is encouraging that we have seen more gay and lesbian candidates elected to political office. It is important for lesbian and gay officeholders and their constituencies to achieve greater visibility as supporters of laws that benefit the entire community. I think this will help educate the American public that lesbian and gay people seek the same goals of quality education for young people, cleaner air and water, safe streets and better health care that straight people want. We have to work harder for the broader vision of the compassionate and caring society that demands decent living standards for all citizens.

Now that the election is finally behind us, we must turn our full attention to building a tightly knit coalition of human rights groups that can act swiftly and effectively for needed policy reforms. Let’s make this first decade of the 21st century an era of unprecedented expansion in freedom and democracy.

And as we work for needed reforms, we must also look ahead to the next elections, mindful that we need more people of color in America’s federal, state, and local political institutions. And we also need more women and more lesbian and gay officeholders as well. This is how we make our political institutions reflect the diversity of the American people.

In closing, my friends, I just want to say that I’m proud to stand with you today as we build a great new American coalition for freedom and human rights for all people. Despite the formidable challenges we face, I believe that we will succeed in creating a more compassionate and just society.

I’ll conclude my remarks tonight with a few words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. at the National Press Club in July of 1962. The 38 years that have come and gone since then have done nothing to diminish the relevance of his remarks. Indeed, they seem particularly appropriate to the challenge we face today.

“We are simply seeking,” said Martin, “to bring into full realization the American dream—a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men no longer argue that the color of a man’s skin determines the content of his character; the dream of a land where everyone will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality—this is the dream. When it is realized, the jangling discords of our nation will be transformed into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood, and men everywhere will know that America is truly the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

With this faith, sisters and brothers, let us work together with renewed passion and commitment to create the beloved community of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, where all people can live together in a spirit of trust and understanding, harmony, love, and peace.

Make Room At The Table for Lesbian and Gay People

Coretta Scott King, speaking four days before the 30th anniversary of her husband's assassination, said Tuesday 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," she said. - Reuters, March 31, 1998.

Homophobia is Like Racism and Anti-Semitism

Speaking before nearly 600 people at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel,
Coretta Scott King, the wife of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Tuesday 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." - Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998, front page.

MLK's Struggle Parallels The Gay Rights Movement

Quoting a passage from her late husband's writing, Coretta Scott King
reaffirmed her stance on gay and lesbian rights Tuesday at a luncheon
celebrating the 25 anniversary of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national gay rights organization. "We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be," she said, quoting her husband. "I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy," King told 600 people at the Palmer House Hilton, days before the 30th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968. She said the civil rights movement "thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion." Her husband's struggle parallels that of the gay rights movement, she said. - Chicago Sun Times, April 1, 1998, p.18.

Mrs. King is Outspoken Supporter of Gay and Lesbian People

"For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people," King said at the 25th Anniversary Luncheon for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.... "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." - Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1998, sec.2, p.4.

Sexual Orientation is a Fundamental Human Rights

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. - Coretta Scott King, remarks, Opening Plenary Session, 13th annual Creating Change conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9, 2000.

We Need a National Campaign Against Homophobia

"We have to launch a national campaign against homophobia in the black community," said Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader. - Reuters, June 8, 2001.

Justice is Indivisible

For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law.... 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. - Coretta Scott King, remarks, press conference on the introduction of ENDA, Washington, DC, June 23, 1994.

http://www.prince.org/msg/105/114743
[Edited 9/15/04 15:40pm]

wow..this is news!! interesting...

"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."

WOW!

SHE WRONG

YOU BORN BLACK

YOU BORN JEW

YOU BORN WOMAN

YOU ACT GAY

AND DO GAY THING

BIG BIG DIFFERENCE

YOU IN DENIAL IF YOU THINK DIFFERENT

CynthiasSocks said:

POOK said:

POOK said:

pook, one: give the discussion some respect and discuss it using normal english..

two: how can you speak on a topic you have no experience on? are you gay? do you know people who are gay who have expressed different opinions on the subject? if so, share those experiences....

CynthiasSocks said:

sosgemini said:

POOK said:

sosgemini said:

lovemachine said:

sosgemini said:

the level of discussion in this forum is sinking lower then bridgette nelson's tits.....

its sad..

POOK said:

CynthiasSocks said:

Soulchild82 said:

JasmineFire said:

Soulchild82 said:

POOK is behaving like an ape. Oops, POOK is an ape!
Such primitive thought.
So what shall we make of apes and other nonhuman species that choose to be gay?

I appreciate Coretta Scott King's place in history, vis-a-vis the Civil Rights Movement.

I'm not going to belabor how wrong I believe it is to compare the discrimination non-whites face all over the world with the inequities faced by people who choose to follow same-sex/alternative livestyles.

Racism is still a knee-jerk, mostly subconcious process. Homophobia as a discriminatory process requires some degree of disclosure. "20/20," about a month ago, even proved quite empirically that job applicants with decidedly ethnic (read, "black") names were routinely rejected by prospective employers -- despite being equally qualified for jobs given instead to white applicants.

Both discriminatory practices are wrong. The same Bible that condemns homosexuality also condemns favoritism, a fact often overlooked by my over-zealous, frequently hateful, fellow Christian opponents to the lifestyle. Discrimination's always wrong.

Funny how it takes me two paragraphs to NOT belabor something...

My main point is this: In recent years, King and her family have done everything they can to exploit MLK's legacy, making the Hendrix estate struggles pale by comparison. While I appreciate her position, I lost whatever respect I had for her years ago.

So, forgive me for greeting this "declaration from on high" (as she most certainly is treated as the widowed Queen of the Movement, at times) as little more than a mercenary attempt to extend MLK's relevance and, by extension, marketability.

one issue is you can't get a job because of your race while the other is that you can't get a job 'cause of who you fuck. they are the same in terms of violation of human rights.

POOK said:

POOK said:

Soulchild82 said:

ThreadBare said:

I appreciate Coretta Scott King's place in history, vis-a-vis the Civil Rights Movement.

I'm not going to belabor how wrong I believe it is to compare the discrimination non-whites face all over the world with the inequities faced by people who choose to follow same-sex/alternative livestyles.

Racism is still a knee-jerk, mostly subconcious process. Homophobia as a discriminatory process requires some degree of disclosure. "20/20," about a month ago, even proved quite empirically that job applicants with decidedly ethnic (read, "black") names were routinely rejected by prospective employers -- despite being equally qualified for jobs given instead to white applicants.

Both discriminatory practices are wrong. The same Bible that condemns homosexuality also condemns favoritism, a fact often overlooked by my over-zealous, frequently hateful, fellow Christian opponents to the lifestyle. Discrimination's always wrong.

Funny how it takes me two paragraphs to NOT belabor something...

My main point is this: In recent years, King and her family have done everything they can to exploit MLK's legacy, making the Hendrix estate struggles pale by comparison. While I appreciate her position, I lost whatever respect I had for her years ago.

So, forgive me for greeting this "declaration from on high" (as she most certainly is treated as the widowed Queen of the Movement, at times) as little more than a mercenary attempt to extend MLK's relevance and, by extension, marketability.

racism and homophobia are apples and oranges.



which is to say that apples and oranges, for all their differences in taste, color, texture, etc., are still both fruits that grow on trees.

XxAxX said: