Christian right leaders love to invoke the legacy of the civil rights movement in their struggle to undo it. During Justice Sunday II, born-again Watergate felon Chuck Colson declared that the Christian right was doing nothing but "giving voice" to Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy. Later in the evening, the Catholic League's Bill Donohue told the nearly all-white, Southern Baptist audience, "Now we're in the back of the bus." For Perkins, who is today perhaps the Christian right's most influential operative, linking his agenda to the civil rights movement serves a purpose almost as important as indulging the persecution fantasies of his followers. The image of Perkins and his allies as the logical heirs to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy helps obscure his past involvement with racist groups and figures as he advances an anti-civil rights agenda. In 1996, while working as campaign manager for the failed US Senate candidacy of his mentor, Woody Jenkins, Perkins signed a check for nearly $90,000 to David Duke for the purchase of his phone bank list. Then, even after a steady stream of bad press doomed his own Senate campaign, Perkins spoke at a 2001 fundraiser for the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white nationalist group which has called blacks "a retrograde species of humanity" on its website. And this Sunday, Perkins will be joined by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who incited opposition to the civil rights movement from the pulpit in 1950's and 1960's Virginia. Seeking to continue his image makeover while advancing the case for the confirmation of Samuel Alito, who would, by all accounts, severely limit civil rights, Tony Perkins has staged Justice Sunday III at a black church in inner-city Philadelphia. And he has assembled three black speakers to sermonize by his side, including Martin Luther King's Jr.'s niece, Alveda King. Judging from their past statements and activities, it looks like these figures been providing cover for racial reactionaries for the entire span of their careers. This Sunday will be no exception. Esther Kaplan has already done a thorough job with her summary of Justice Sunday III, so here is what I can add:
Wellington Boone Boone makes no secret of his bizarre racial views either. Consider this statement he made in his book, "Breaking Through:" "I want to boldly affirm Uncle Tom. The black community must stop criticizing Uncle Tom. He is a role model." Or this, in the same book: "I believe that slavery, and the understanding of it when you see it God's way, was redemptive." Or this, on Pat Robertson's 700 Club, in the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina: "We need to consider the culture of those people still stranded in New Orleans. The looting of property, the trashing of property, et cetera, speaks to the basic character of the people. These people who have gone through slavery, segregation and the Voting Rights Act are doing this to themselves." Now that's putting the compassion in "compassionate conservatism."
Herb Lusk Lusk's hosting of Justice Sunday III is not the first time he's provided political help to the GOP leadership. In 2000, in possible violation of IRS laws, Lusk delivered the invocation at the Republican National Convention. Four years later, he hosted the President at his church for a speech praising abstinence as the best -- and perhaps, only -- way to prevent AIDS. Lusk also provides much-need cover for Santorum, allowing him to highlight their work together whenever his support for tax cuts for the rich, Walmart, and opposition to the Family Leave Act and affirmative action are criticized. As Santorum's possibly doomed re-election campaign kicks into high gear, he is joining Lusk at Justice Sunday III.
Alveda King "My grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., once said, 'No one is going to kill a child of mine,'" Alveda King wrote on her website. "Tragically, two of his grandchildren had already been aborted when he saved the life of his next great-grandson with this statement." Move over George Wallace. Planned Parenthood has tossed the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny and said, 'abortion now,' 'abortion tomorrow,' 'abortion forever.' In the 1990's, Alveda King became an ardent supporter of school vouchers for inner city children. Yet her advocacy was performed through a well-compensated fellowship at the right-wing Alexis De Tocqueville Institution. The ADT Institution (and by extension, King, during her fellowship) is essentially a front for big business interests and conservative foundations like Scaife, Olin and Bradley. During the period the Bradley Foundation subsidized King's fellowship at ADT, it was funding Charles Murray's infamous "Bell Curve" study asserting that blacks and Latinos are genetically inferior to whites and Asians.
Historical Amnesia Maybe they have forgotten Falwell's 1963 attack from the pulpit on LBJ's civil rights legislation: "It should be considered civil wrongs rather than civil rights." And they might be unable to recall that, according to William Martin's "With God On Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America," Falwell distributed anti-MLK literature provided to him by J. Edgar Hoover. Or that he founded a "Christian academy" in 1966 described by the Lynchburg News as "a private school for white students." I find it hard to believe, however, that Boone, Lusk and King could be unaware of Falwell's famous 1965 sermon, "Ministers and Marches," in which he assailed MLK and his allies more stridently than ever. In this sermon, Falwell questioned "the sincerity and intentions of some civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others, who are known to have left-wing associations. It is very obvious that the Communists, as they do in all parts of the world, are taking advantage of a tense situation in our land, and are exploiting every incident to bring about violence and bloodshed." Falwell added, "Preachers are not called to be politicians, but to be soul winners." (If only he'd followed his own advice.) Martin Luther King once said, "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism, or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." In joining racial reactionaries this Sunday in support of Samuel Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court, Boone, Lusk and Alveda King have chosen the latter.
Who Are Justice Sunday's Ministers of Minstrelsy? | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)
Who Are Justice Sunday's Ministers of Minstrelsy? | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)
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Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series
on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare)
Palin's Church Promotes Gay Conversion
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Palin's Pastor: God "Is Gonna Strike Out His Hand Against... America
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Short Takes: Sarah Palin Edition
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Palin's Churches and the Third Wave
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What is Dominionism? Palin, the Christian Right, & Theocracy
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EVENT CANCELLED Speaking in Philadelphia on September 27th
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Sarah Palin's Theocratic End Times - UPDATED
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At Palin Church, Jews For Jesus Head Says Terrorism vs Israel Is God's Punishment
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Future links to upcoming documentaries on Palin's Churches
Will live here, at this URL address. ...... By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
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The Irony of Sarah Palin's "Choice"
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Sarah Palin: Dominionist Stalking Horse
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Richard Land Picks Republican Veep Candidate
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"Yes on 8" RSVP? Need your advice.
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Alabama PSC Cantidate Matt Chancey: His Views on Suffrage, Women, Marriage, etc.
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Jews and Christians Unite against the Empire of Neo-cons and 'Christian' Zionists
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Patriot Follows the Money and Exposes Foreign Agents
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The Alleged "Church of Liberalism"
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Hope Never Dies for Extremists
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Prosyletization in Iraq: A threat to national security
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Proselytization in Iraq: A minor history
The recent incident where a Marine was recently found distributing "Bible coins" promoted by a fundamentalist "Bible church" is, sad to say, far from the first incident of overt prosyletisation in Iraq. The truth...... By dogemperor (1 comment)
Source of "Bible coins" distributed by USMC in Iraq discovered
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What Does the Religious Right Fear the Most?
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UK Abortion Limit Stays at 24 Weeks Despite Washington Think Tank's Tactics
IN GOD'S NAME is a revealing documentary about how the Alliance Defense Fund is using its tactics to try to restrict abortion in Europe as well as in America. Watch this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeTfW8-dCNE ...... By TMurray (3 comments)
'Christians United For Israel' Joyfully Sing of Israel's Invasion and Destruction
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The Petrification of John McCain
We are very pleased to welcome Frederick Lane as a guest front pager. He is the author of several books,most recently, The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's Crusade to Reshape the Supreme...... By Frederick_Lane (3 comments)
More Biblical Precedent for Allowing Abortion
This is a follow up to my most recent diary entry. ...... By TMurray (3 comments)
John Hagee Says God Made AIDS and Bird Flu But Lord will Protect Him Personally
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Biblical support for abortion, who knew?
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2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
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Watching the PBS miniseries "Carrier" was a revelation, but not always a pleasant one... ...... By bughouse square (0 comments)
Will We Ever Learn?
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McCain-Endorser's Church Casts Out "Demon of Anal Fissures", Teaches Vomiting Evil Spirits
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Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
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