Who Are Justice Sunday's Ministers of Minstrelsy?
Max Blumenthal printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 10:38:59 AM EST
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others... 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"         --Scheduled Justice Sunday III speaker Rev. Jerry Falwell

"I want to boldly affirm Uncle Tom. The black community must stop criticizing Uncle Tom. He is a role model."                       --Scheduled Justice Sunday III speaker Rev. Wellington Boone

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 theocratic intentions. He's a member of the Dominionist umbrella group, Coalition on Revival, which advocates the replacement of Constitutional democracy with Biblical law. He's also a former leader of the right-wing Christian men's group, the Promise Keepers, which, with its overt promotion of women's submission (along with a theocratic patriarchy), makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look like Andrea Dworkin.

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

The host of Justice Sunday III and former NFL benchwarmer known as "the praying tailback" used to be a Democrat. Then, thanks to the aggressive lobbying of Sen. Rick Santorum, George W. Bush's Office of Faith Based Initiatives began bankrolling Lusk's operations, starting with an grant of over $900,000 in 2002. Then, like magic, Lusk became a rock-ribbed Republican.

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

A few years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, his niece, Alveda, had what she now calls "an involuntary abortion." A few years later, after Roe v. Wade was decided, she had another abortion. Her response to what she has characterized as a personal crisis was to join up with the offspring of the anti-integration movement -- the Christian right -- in the struggle to ban abortion. So much for internal reflection.

"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

On Sunday, King, Lusk and Boone will share the stage with the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Perhaps they're too young to remember the sermon Falwell delivered from his segregated Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1958, "Segregation and Integration: Which?" in which he declared that integration would lead to the destruction of the white race.

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.




Display:
Although Rev. Falwell's expressions of white supremacist views in the 1950s and 1960s were not intelligently designed, he would likely claim to have evolved since then. His speech is now much more inclusive, encompassing attacks on gays and lesbians, Muslims, and others with whom he disagrees. So if Rev. Falwell can admit that he was wrong in his moral judgment on racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s, he may continue to evolve, and may one day admit that he was wrong to excoriate gays, lesbians, and Muslims.

by jhutson on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 11:45:39 AM EST
This blog shares different articles which we need to implement in our life. Talk to actions is the best place or you can say that it is the best to read this article and share such kind of information. It aware us to survive in the world by implementing something.

by Ananomous on Mon Sep 23, 2019 at 09:30:24 AM EST
Parent


  1. The word Minstrel seems egregious. They aren't using it, which means you are introducing it.

  2. The most important thing, I'd say, is that reporters who might cover Injustice Sunday know this information, but when I look at it from their perspective, I think a couple things:
 a. Gosh, it's long, will there be anything good?
 b. The stuff on Falwell, the newest stuff is 1965? Lots of people, maybe even most people in my neck of the woods, agreed with that back then. Now, maybe they shouldn't have read the fake stories Hoover put into the papers, but how would they have known?

One sec...

by JoshNarins on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 11:56:53 AM EST


This comment has been deleted by Esther Kaplan



by Esther Kaplan on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 12:17:13 PM EST

I tried whipping up a version of the article (almost identical text) the way I might like to see it. It's still fairly ugly, but you might get the idea...

Still need to add paragraph indenting, and, like I said, it is ugly.

Lesson? Write in HTML

by JoshNarins on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 12:48:18 PM EST

It's a very good one. I'd just been considering that approach. I could implement it quite neatly with css.

by Bruce Wilson on Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 01:32:45 PM EST
Parent


I sincerely enjoyed it; thank you for the information and the links.

The point is that Jerry Falwell hasn't changed, at least in one sense; he continues to fire up his base, and get money coming in by attacking a minority or those suffering from lack of equal protection of the law, not hestiating to hang around extremists.  Tony Perkins has changed his spots either.


by Maat on Sun Jan 08, 2006 at 02:35:22 AM EST


Your enthusiasm about gaming has truly stunned me. I have seen numerous enthusiastic gamers yet your characteristics are truly astounding. You have aced more than that of the 300 games which is a virtuoso record.  see this

by Abbot45558 on Tue Nov 19, 2019 at 07:30:43 AM EST

I have played diverse Human Battle games on the grounds that these games are not normal for some other battling game. Mortal Battle gaming arrangement have presented an absolutely new idea which is that I can murder my adversary utilizing richness.  http://www.commacheckeronline.com/how-comma-splice-checker-online -can-help-you/

by Abbot45558 on Tue Nov 19, 2019 at 07:32:05 AM EST

In case you are messing around just barely for the enlightening explanation, by then these games can truly manufacture your degree of insight while incitement will be as an extra group. Games have been consistently shown an unbelievable wellspring of mental generation. visit the website

by Abbot45558 on Tue Nov 19, 2019 at 07:33:08 AM EST


WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.