Thursday, August 26, 2010

Alveda King's attempted claiming of the MLK legacy is sad

Many black leaders oppose the comparisons between the African-American civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. But few are as vehemently opposed to the comparison as Martin Luther King Jr's niece, Alveda King.

However, as her recent behavior demonstrates, it could be that Alveda King doesn't like the so-called appropriation of the black civil rights movement because it hones in on her action.

Witness her comments in defense of her joining Glenn Beck's 8-28 rally which will be held 47 years to the date of the 1963 March on Washington which featured Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech:

"It is absolutely ludicrous that abortion supporters would accuse a blood relative of Dr. King of hijacking the King legacy. Uncle Martin and my father, Rev. A. D. King were blood brothers. How can I hijack something that belongs to me? I am an heir to the King Family legacy."

Alveda King's statements in this press release (which is titled Pro-Abortion Blacks Attack Heir to King Legacy) isn't the first time she claimed that "blood" entitles her to be an "heir to the King legacy."

Last month, during an anti-gay marriage rally, she said pretty much the same thing during a verbal attack on her late aunt, Coretta Scott King. Her exact words then were:

She (Coretta) was married to him (Martin Luther King, Jr.). I've got his DNA. She doesn't.

Alveda King's constant yammering that the "King blood flows through her veins" reminds me of Saturday Night Live comedian Tracy Morgan's hilarious send-up of Star Jones on The View in which he would constantly pepper the conversations in various skits with assurances that his character was a lawyer in an effort to lampoon questions of Jones's relevancy.

King would be equally funny except for the fact she has made a career out of being MLK's niece. What she has to say is not important. No one cares. It's the symbol of MLK that's more important. This is something she knows and is not ashamed of.

Why care when there is so much spotlight to be grabbed?

And in this particular case, i.e. Beck's rally, Alveda King is soiling the King name and legacy by aligning it with someone who, if he had been around during King's time, would be one of the first to denigrate him with as much ease as he is now denigrating what King stood for.

I don't think the King legacy has anything to do with blackboards, conspiracy theories, and charlatans who can cry crocodile tears at the drop of a hat.

And Alveda's chirpings about her sharing the "King blood" is like me using an alleged familial relationship to a rock star to demand a recording contract even though I can't carry a tune.

MLK's legacy should never be used like a commodity  nor should it be determined by blood relationships. MLK's legacy is about truth, integrity, and most of all, love.

So while the King blood does flow through Alveda's veins, she seems to be sorely lacking on the other points. Especially integrity.

Hat tip to People for the American Way.


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2 comments:

Mykelb said...

Apparently, Alveda has some of Dr. King's genes, but none of his brains or understanding and compassion for others.

Buffy said...

As someone else said, that particular apple fell off the tree and rolled into a ditch. She may have his DNA, but that's where it ends. She has none of his compassion, his intelligence or his integrity.