Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Coretta Scott King's Politics Remembered

There was reverence, history shared in troubled times, not to
mention political theater and foreshadowing of things to come.

President Bill Clinton showed everyone how it's done, without
notes, speaking from the heart, with a message filled with soul. Then he passed
the presidency to his wife, the woman who Republicans fear more than a soldier's funeral.

Rev. Lowery on Coretta Scott King, honor the woman, honor her politics.

Senator Teddy Kennedy reminded us of his words of old, while giving
us a glimpse back into the power of Coretta Scott King's politics. Kennedy said,
\”…and Robert called the judge.\” To whom was the Senator referring?
In 1960, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and imprisoned, people around
candidate John F. Kennedy wanted him to call and console Mrs. King. He was,
let's just say, reluctant to wade into the rapids of race, but his better angel
prevailed. It was at that time that Bobby Kennedy called the judge who had sentenced
King, and shortly thereafter, he was released on bail. Legend has it that a
King family member proclaimed, \”I've got a suitcase of votes, and I'm going
to take them to Mr. Kennedy and dump them in his lap.\” Many people believe
that it was Kennedy's call to Coretta, and RFK's call to the judge that actually
won the election 1960, at a time when Nixon and the Republicans were courting only whites down south.

President Jimmy Carter basically seconded that reality, when he
asserted he wouldn't have gotten elected if Coretta hadn't campaigned in her churches,
and though I didn't see it, he evidently made more than just a single statement
today. Carter laid waste to Bush's illegal wiretaps, bringing to mind that the
same was done to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, something that
brought even more tension to a marriage already filled with the fear of death's
daily stalking. Then, in a move few men have the courage to make, former President
Carter, according to news reports, turned and left, without acknowledging or
even shaking hands with President George W. Bush.

Coretta Scott King made presidents out of two Democratic Party
leaders, with President Clinton still the rock star of the black community.
Today Mrs. King was honored as a woman, for her life, her activism and her unyielding
sense of duty to those for whom her husband laid down his life so they could
have a better life. Sometimes you can't separate a person from his or her politics.
When you have a black woman who made presidents out of Democratic white boys,
the case for remembering both together stands tall, especially in Coretta Scott
King's heavenly church hall.

\”It's either non-violence or non-existence.\”
- Bernice King, Coretta Scott King's daughter.

…as an added note, don't look now, but an heir to the King legacy has been delivered…

The Plantation Owners are Pissed