This wonderful interview that Michelangelo Signorile conducted with Martin Luther King III, the son of MLK, is an excellent antidote for all of the times the wannabes and never-will-bes attempt to co-opt the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and MLK to plant a wedge between the lgbt and black communities.
King also voiced support for the boycott of the Russian Olympics due that country's anti-gay policies. But this part is very poignant to me:
King III also discussed his father’s legacy on civil rights and claims by some anti-gay religious conservatives, including some black minsters, that his father would not have supported LGBT equality. MLK's widow and King III's mother, Coretta Scott King, eventually became a champion of LGBT rights and gay marriage. Gay advocates are included among the speakers at the rally this weekend commemorating the march, and LGBT groups are busing in attendees.
“What I know, for sure, is that dad was beyond the average person in terms of what he chose to embrace and accept,” King III said. “One of the most significant persons -- the most significant person in fact -- who helped to organize the March on Washington was Mr. Bayard Rustin [who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom this year by President Obama]. And Mr. Bayard Rustin was openly gay. The point is, if dad had problems with gays I don’t think he would have embraced someone in a such a significant role. I think that as he worked to advocate for civil and human rights, he was talking for everyone, not just for people of color. That’s where my mom was throughout her life.”
You read more about the interview here. But try to listen to it all if you can.
