Opinion: Let’s Pull Together, p.13
Local News: Robert Gant to Address Charlotte HRC Dinner, pA
January 21,2005 Serving the Carolinas For Over 25 Years!
Volume 26, Number 2
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Split in Martin Luther King's
own family reflects larger
debate over gay marriage
, ATLANTA (AP) - Martin Luther King Jr.Vs
youngest child lit a torch at her father's
tomb last month to kick off a march advo
cating a ban on gay marriage, creating a
strong image linking the slain civil rights
icon to today's heated social debate.
But just nine months earlier. King's
widow defended die rights of gays and •*
. jriesbinnsin^a^sp<»chat^New-jheffiey cofo*
Iglliigfe-' " ' *' *'"* ’ '
King never publicly spoke on gay rights .
while leading the charge toward racial
equality in the 1950s and ’60s, but the clash
over gay marriage has prompted people
- close to his legacy to pick sides and inter- ,
pret how they believe King would stand
on the issue if he were alive. f04
■ Coretta Scott King a longtime support
er of gay rights, has often invoked her late 4’
husband's teachings while advocating toh. V
erance and equality for homosexuals.
Most recently, she denounced the pro- 3*
posed national constitutional amendment 4
i. to ban same-sex marriage in a speech at /
New Jersey's Richard Stockton College.
4 "Gay and lesbian people have families 4
and their families should have legal pro- 4
tection, whether by marriage or dvil gd
r union," she said in her March 23 address. 4
, "A constitutional amendment banning
f same-sex marriages is a form of g:
ing and it would do nothing at all to j
tect traditional marriages."
f_, Martin Luther King III also has can*
; demned homophobia. As an organizer of
jthe 40th anniversary commemoration of . |
4<he 1963 March on Washington, King and f ^
his mother invited gay, lesbian, bisexual - 4
and transgender groups to participate. i
% But the Kings' youngest child, Bernice j
I.King, helped lead thousands of people in |
jan Atlanta march last month that had a*K;r
janti-gay agenda.
The march, organized by Bishop 1
"The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
NGLTF Honors Ring
Matt. Foreman, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
released this statement in honor of the
Martin Liuther King Jr. holiday:
"We honor the life and legacy of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In his
life, Dr. King - greatly assisted by
our own Bayard Rustin — bent the
arc of history toward racial and eco
nomic justice. Since the deaths of
these prophetic figures, those who
walked beside them have contin
ued their vision, and included jus
tice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender Americans in their
work.
We hold up with gratitude the
members of Dr. King's family and
those who fought beside Dr. King
while he was alive:
'The white, the Hispanic, the
black, the Arab, ,the., Jew, the
woman, the Native American, the
small farmer, the businessperson,
the environmentalist, the peace
activist, the young, the old, the les
bian, the gay and the disabled make
up the American quilt.'
— Reverend Jesse Jackson, during his
1984 address at the Democratic
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task «i
Force, Mandy Carter of Southerners on New Ground (SONG), and Coretta
Scott King at the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.
National Convention.
'I appeal to everyone who
believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
dream to make room at the table of
brotherhood and sisterhood for les
bian and gay people.'
- Coretta Scott King, at the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Creating Change conference,
Atlanta, GA, November 9,2000.
'Homophobia is hate, and hate*
has no place in the beloved commu
nity.'
continued on page 13
Allen Named Domestic Policy Adviser
By Bob Roehr
Contributing Writer
Claude Allen will
become the chief
domestic polity
adviser in the Bush
White House,
according to an
announcement
made on January 5.
Gay and AIDS
advocates are con
cerned by the possi
ble implications for
community issues.
Allen, 44, is a
social conservative
and African
Claude Allen
The agency also
has conducted
"audits" of AIDS
services organiza
tions and activities
that many within
the community have
characterized as
harassing in nature
Allen was nomi
nated to be a federal
judge on the Fourth
Circuit Court of
Appeals in 2003. But
Maryland's two
Democratic Senators
blocked the nomina
tion with the claim
American. He has served the last
four years as the number two per
son at tfte Department of Health
and Human Services where he has
been a strong supporter of absti
nence only HIV prevention pro
grams and restrictions on abortions.
that the seat traditionally had been
filled by a Marylander. Other
Democrats happily supported their
claim as they did not wish to see yet
another strong conservative vote
added to what many observers see
as the most conservative federal dr
cuit court in the country.
He served as Virginia's secretary
of health in the 1990s. In the 1980s
he was one of the first black staffers
for conservative Sen. Jesse Helms.
As press secretary dining the 1984
reelection Allen said that Helms'
opponent had ties to "queers" and
"radical feminists."
Allen was asked about those
remarks during his judicial confir
mation hearing. He said that he did
not believe the words were deroga
tory, nor had he intend to use them
in a derogatory manner.
That has not allayed the concerns
of community advocates. They
remember that Gary Bauer used
that position to influence policy
decisions during the Reagan
administration.
"I hope it is not a sign of social
policy for this administration," said
Terje Anderson, executive director
conthMMd on page 8
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