I hadn’t originally planned to write about the passing of Coretta Scott King, not because it isn’t an important loss, but because I’m still mourning the void left behind by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But the combination of the absurd reaction to a few of the speakers at her funeral and a memory from my childhood changed my mind.
I had the honor of meeting Mrs. King when I was maybe 10 years old. My family was flying to Florida on vacation and we had a connection in Atlanta. As we were making our way to the gate, a large entourage headed in our direction, clearly surrounding a VIP. But it wasn’t anyone I knew; in fact my father had to explain who it was. At that young an age, I had only a vague understanding of Dr. King, and even less of a clue as to why his wife warranted the attention shown to her by nearly everyone else in the terminal. But when I noticed my father’s reaction, it hit me: my father, not known for his enlightened stance on race or gender relations was awestruck by a black woman. I don’t remember much else about that day, but that feeling will be with me for the rest of my life. Some people are so special that they transcend prejudice, class and racial lines, and plain old bad habits. For continuing her late husband’s work long after his death, Mrs. King was certainly one of those people. Through hard work against an unrelenting tide of opposition, she, like Dr. King, left the world a better place than she found it.
At her funeral on Tuesday, 10,000 people packed an Atlanta-area church, including President George W. Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Many distinguished leaders, both political and religious, gave speeches eulogizing Mrs. King. Clinton challenged us to “model her behavior” and Carter reminded us that both Dr. and Mrs. King “…changed America, [but] were not appreciated even at the highest level of government. It was difficult for them personally — with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretapping, other surveillance…and as you know, harassment from the FBI.” But the speaker who drew as much applause as Clinton and more ire from Republicans was Reverend Joseph Lowery:
“We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there [standing ovation]…
But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here.
Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds.
For war billions more but no more for the poor.”
Not surprisingly, Lowery’s quote has the right in a frenzy. Apparently this is one of those times that they like to talk about on The Daily Show where the facts are biased. Setting aside the WMD comment which is true, but an obvious rhetorical device, on what grounds can any sitting Republican criticize or refute Lowery’s points on the treatment of poor Americans, the overwhelming percentage of whom are black? Do they deny their own data showing that the rates of those in poverty and lacking insurance are rising? Are they forgetting the foundation of their ruling majority, the racist “southern strategy,” that despite chatter to the contrary is still in full effect? Are we supposed to pretend that we didn’t hear their post-Katrina comments filled with discrimination, hate and condescension? And as long as we’re on the subject, would they rather we not ask why Bush used a recess appointment to put racist judge Charles Pickering on the federal appellate bench on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day, 2004?
These are all things that Dr. and Mrs. King spent their lives fighting. Who could argue that these ideas didn’t belong at her funeral? Well, Rush Limbaugh, Kate O’Beirne, Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, Redstate and many more. I guess we’re just supposed to think these things rather than say them.
Remember, funerals for Republican politicians can be 14-day-long advertisements that result in sainthood, but should any Democrat dare speak a political word, look out.
It’s time for Republicans to get real on race. Pandering for votes and feigning outrage while supporting racist political strategies and allowing poverty to rise with each new year are incompatible.
