Politics in the pulpit
Of the St. Louis American
Coretta Scott King’s funeral service on Tuesday in suburban Atlanta framed her life perfectly.
It was at times historic, at times heartrending, at times brutally honest and at times humorous.
The woman, who arose above tragedy to keep Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “dream” alive and burning in the hearts of billions of people worldwide, was celebrated by four living presidents, heads of state, the poor and the powerful during a seven-hour service at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
“The service certainly helped define her life,” said Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay, who traveled to the ceremony with a four-plane delegation from Washington, D.C.
“What she meant to the country and what she meant to the world was shared here today. This service speaks volumes for the indelible mark she left on this country, its people and the attitude that changed this nation’s racial landscape.”
Speaker after speaker spoke and/or sang the praises of Coretta Scott King, who passed away on Jan. 30 at the age of 78. She died in Mexico while awaiting treatment for ovarian cancer.
Former President Bill Clinton, who received a thunderous ovation from the more than 10,000 people in attendance with his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, (D-N.Y.), at his side, said it is important to remember that Coretta Scott King was more than a symbol or the wife of a martyr.
“She was a woman who lived and breathed,” said Clinton.
He also asked, “What are we going to do now? What are we doing to uphold her work?”
The Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta was founded by Coretta Scott King, but now finds itself in financial crisis.
Clinton called out affluent black members of Fulton County, saying black residents there are the second-wealthiest in the nation, behind only Montgomery County in suburban Washington, D.C.
“What are you going to do about the King Center?” he asked, with each of his statements receiving loud applause and standing ovations.
President Bush spoke first saying, “Her journey was long and only briefly with a hand to hold, but now she leans on everlasting arms. In all her years, Coretta Scott King proved that a person of conviction and strength could also be a beautiful soul.”
Bush’s comments were met with soft applause, and there was noticeable restlessness in the congregation.
Then, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and active civil rights leader, lit into Bush in a poem while praising Coretta Scott King.
“We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there/ But Coretta knew and we knew 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,” Lowery said.
Mourners responded with a standing ovation.
Former President Jimmy Carter reminded the congregation that the Kings were the victims of government surveillance without search warrant, such as the kind being championed by Bush.
“It was difficult for them personally, with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated, and they became the targets of secret government wiretapping and other surveillance,” Carter said.
“They overcame one of the greatest challenges of life, which is to be able to wage a fierce struggle for freedom and justice and to do it peacefully.”
Carter also reminded mourners of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
“We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to know that inequality exists.”
Sen. Ted Kennedy, (D-N.Y.) said, “For decades, she was the wind at our back as we worked to uphold civil rights laws.”
Poet Maya Angelou sang much of her comments, including, “We owe something from this minute on, so that this gathering is not just another footnote on the pages of history.”
Bernice King, the youngest of the Kings’ four children and a pastor at New Birth, delivered her mother’s eulogy and called on America to not live in the past.
“The past is now gone. It is time for the future. It is time for new birth. It is time for new leaders,” she said.
Dorothy Height, longtime chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women, held that same thought when she said from a wheelchair, “Let us not think about history. Let us make history, and let us move forward.”
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin asked, “Who among us will join the freedom choir? Who among us will sing Coretta’s song with courage and conviction, to smother the cries of hatred, economic exploitation, poverty and political disenfranchisement?”
King closed her eulogy saying that her mother’s purpose in life was to spread her father’s message of peace and unconditional love.
“Thank you, mother,” she said, “for your incredible example of Christ-like love and obedience.”
