King Commits Anew to Lead Rights Group

Martin Luther King III admitted Sunday night that he is not his father.

But he said that wouldn’t stop him from leading the civil rights organization, founded by his famous father, at the beginning of the 21st century.

“I don’t have my father’s melodious voice. God only gave South Africa one Mandela. God only gave the United States one Martin Luther King,” King told the opening session of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Montgomery on Sunday night.

“God has seen fit to give me just a flicker of the flame. I’m going to let it shine,” said King, as some of the most prestigious civil rights figures in the country stood behind him and an audience of about 700 waved “We love you Martin” signs.

King, 43, opened the convention Sunday night hoping to erase questions about his leadership as president of the organization founded by his father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., after the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott in the 1950s.

The SCLC national board of directors had planned to meet Sunday afternoon with King, but that meeting was delayed until today so the many ministers on the board would have more time to get to Montgomery after church services.

The convention gives King an opportunity to fight off dissenters in the SCLC, who have reportedly called him an absent, ineffective leader. SCLC board Chairman Claud Young sent King a letter in May citing King’s inability to raise money, lack of communication, unexplained stints away from the Atlanta office, and failure to set a clear agenda for the group, according to published reports.

Young has since said that the matter has been resolved and promised during a speech Sunday to support the SCLC’s leadership.

King said the internal conflict will not stop the SCLC from continuing his father’s fight against social injustice.

“I know the recent challenges have been grave, but we are not going to let anyone turn us around,” King said. “While we are busy waging minor fights inside, major fights go on outside.”

King promised the SCLC would struggle against many ills facing blacks and poor Americans, including crime, homelessness, hunger and inadequate education.

Key civil rights figures united behind King on the podium, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson; King’s mother, Coretta Scott King; former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young; and former SCLC President Joseph Lowrey.

“The press is floating around here like buzzards looking for a funeral. We come here looking for the future,” Jackson said.

Earlier Sunday, Jackson said he hoped the controversy over SCLC leadership will attract more attention to the organization and its social agenda.

He said he hoped the organization will look at issues of “economic exploitation,” such as blacks having to pay more for car and housing loans and many poor people not receiving federal income tax rebates.

Alabama SCLC President Charles Steele said Sunday he expects the organization’s agenda “for the next 20 or 30 years” will be set during the Montgomery convention. He said he expects the economic issues pushed by Jackson will be part of that plan.

“You’re going to see a new SCLC come out of this convention. You’re going to see a new commitment from the board as well as from President King,” Steele said.

Georgia state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, a former field director for the SCLC, said he expects the convention to rally around King. He said if there is unhappiness among delegates it is more likely to be with Young, for making an internal dispute public.

He said while the dispute is troubling, it may stimulate interest at the convention.

The national convention runs through Wednesday and will include a celebration of enactment of the Voting Rights Act and workshops on issues such as voter registration, reparations and racial profiling.