Notice that some in the media were grilling MLK's niece, Dr. Alveda King, for speaking at Beck's rally, as if to insinuate that she had no business doing so, or at least, she was insensitive to those whining about Beck's supposedly hijacking the civil rights movement.
RON CLAIBORNE: All right. Thank you very much, Claire Shipman reporting from Washington. And joining me now, from just outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is Dr. Alveda King. She is the, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s niece. She’ll be speaking at the Glenn Beck rally that is starting later today. Welcome to the show.
DR. ALVEDA KING, NIECE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: Well, thank you. Good morning.
CLAIBORNE: Okay, good morning to you. Dr. King, why are you attending this rally, the Glenn Beck rally there in D.C. today?
KING: I am attending this rally to help reclaim America. You know, when Glenn said he's reclaiming the civil rights movement, I don't need to be reclaimed. I am the civil rights movement. And so I'm joining Glenn to talk about faith, hope, charity, honor. Those are things that America needs to reclaim. Our children need to remember how to love each other, how to honor each other, their parents, God and their neighbors. So I agree with Glenn on all those principles. And for me, it's principle over politics. And that's why I'm here. My uncle talked about love. My uncle talked about faith, hope and charity. My uncle talked about honor. And I'm expecting to honor my uncle today. My daddy, Reverend A.D. King, my grandaddy, Martin Luther King, Sr., we’re a family of faith, hope and love. And that’s why I’m here today.
CLAIBORNE: And Dr. Martin Luther King, as you said, also talked about bringing people together, healing racial divisions. Many people call Glenn Beck's political views and style inflammatory and divisive. Are you comfortable, are you comfortable aligning yourself with someone who once called President Obama a racist?
KING: Well, I’ve never called President Obama a racist. I love President Obama. I pray for him all the time. God loves President Obama. God loves Glenn. God loves you. And God loves me. And that's the message I'm here for. And for me, it's principle over politics. I talk to Glenn about that all the time. When Glenn says that there's one human race, I agree with him. So we're not here to divide. I'm about unity. And really, that's why I'm here. And I want to honor my uncle today.
CLAIBORNE: Well, Congressman John Lewis, who, of course, stood beside your uncle 47 years ago and marched many times for civil rights, has said that Beck's rally is an affront to what the Civil Rights Movement stood for. When you hear that kind of talk, can you understand, at least, how some people could interpret it that way?
KING: You know, my daddy, A. D. King, was on the Edmund Pettus Bridge with John Lewis. I marched and went to jail. I believe Congressman Lewis remembers that. My home in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed. And so, I really remember that history. But right in the middle of that history, I remember my family talking about faith, hope, love. And we've got to honor each other. So I'm calling on the Congressman, Reverend Sharpton, I talked to him about that last night. I'm calling for everybody to remember that my uncle talked about bringing everybody together, not dividing. I tell Glenn that all the time. And we're talking about the one human race that needs to be loved and honored. And we're loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.
CLAIBORNE: Okay.
KING: That's really what Glenn and I talk about.
CLAIBORNE: Thank you very much, Alveda King, for joining us this morning. You'll be at that rally, the Glenn Beck rally, later today. Bianna?Read more:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2010/08/30/abc-presses-mlk-niece-understand-least-how-some-see-beck-rally-affron#ixzz0y6LtCTdUhttp://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2010/08/30/abc-presses-mlk-niece-understand-least-how-some-see-beck-rally-affron
