KeithBoykin.com
February 10, 2006
(www.keithboykin.com)

Why Julian Bond Skipped King's Funeral

He is one of the most recognizable figures of the civil rights movement. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and he worked with Coretta Scott King in the years after her husband's death. He even served in the state legislature of Georgia, where Mrs. King lived. And now he is the chairman of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). So why wasn't he at the funeral for Coretta Scott King on Tuesday?

Julian Bond, who is also a professor at the University of Virginia, reportedly told his students in his history class that day why he chose not to attend the funeral in Atlanta. He decided not to go because he felt that Dr. King's message and Coretta Scott King's message were contradictory to the message of the anti-gay New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Bond Said Mrs. King Supported Gay Rights

Several students in the class told the University of Virginia student newspaper, The Cavalier, that Bond said King would have opposed the views on gay rights held by New Birth's pastor, Bishop Eddie Long. According to one student who attended the class, Bond "said that he chose not to attend the funeral [because] during her life Coretta Scott King very much [pushed] for civil rights not just for African-Americans but also for gays and lesbians."

In December 2004, Bishop Long led a controversial march from the King Center in Atlanta to protest gay marriage. "The church that the service was in has historically marched against gay rights and he felt that she had the choice to promote gay rights, and the church had the choice to go against them, and he was also using his liberty to not attend [something] she would be ashamed of," the student said.

After the class, Bond discussed his absence in an email to another student. The email was later obtained by the student newspaper. In the email, Bond reportedly wrote that "Mrs. King was a strong supporter of gay and lesbian rights." And in what may have been a reference to the extravagant lifestyle of Bishop Long, Bond added, "Her husband was a strong believer in helping the poor and preached a theology of contempt for seekers of material goods -- and lived his life that way."

In contrast to the legacy of the Kings, Bond said, "The pastor of the church where she was funeralized led an anti-gay march through Atlanta -- sadly, Mrs. King's youngest daughter, an elder in his church, accompanied him. We cannot know what Mrs. King's wishes were for a funeral -- she probably had no choice about church or minister -- but I did have a choice -- and while I have an abiding respect for my former neighbor and friend, I chose not to be in that church."

Some students, at the southern campus, praised Bond's decision. "When famous activists die, people like to pretend they were apolitical and didn't have beliefs," a gay student told the paper. "Coretta Scott King believed in gay rights. I support Julian Bond's decision not to go."