NYT: King Funeral Has Surprise in Site Choice (megachurch, not Ebenezer)

[DeepModem Mom]

King Funeral Has Surprise in Site Choice
By BRENDA GOODMAN
Published: February 3, 2006


ATLANTA, Feb. 2 — Coretta Scott King's funeral will be held not at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband once preached, but at a much larger suburban megachurch where her youngest daughter is an elder, funeral planners said Thursday.

Thousands of people, including world leaders and celebrities, are expected to attend the service at noon on Tuesday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, the funeral director, Willie A. Watkins said.

The news surprised many people who had assumed that the funeral would be held at Ebenezer Baptist, the historic chapel in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father and grandfather preached, and where Mrs. King was a board member until she died on Monday at age 78.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer, had said he "fully expected" Mrs. King's funeral to be at his church. On Thursday, Mr. Warnock said that he supported the family and that a viewing, a memorial service and a musical tribute would be held for Mrs. King at Ebenezer on Monday....

***

Ebenezer is next to the King Center on Auburn Avenue in downtown Atlanta, a neighborhood that is the nexus of the civil rights movement. "It's not my call, whatever that's worth," the Rev. Joseph Lowery said of the site for the funeral. "I would not have placed it at New Birth."...Mr. Lowery, who helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. King, said space had been a major consideration....


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/national/03king.html

[Rick Myers]

1. Wow! I don't know how you can pick if the daughter is an elder

But there should be some inclusion of Ebenezer BC somehow... But it's up to the family. GODSPEED Coretta Scott King!

[WhiteTara]

39. there is

... On Thursday, Mr. Warnock said that he supported the family and that a viewing, a memorial service and a musical tribute would be held for Mrs. King at Ebenezer on Monday....

[phoebe]

2. good - the more people who can be reminded of Mr. and Mrs. King's vision

the better...

[951-Riverside]

3. Its a shame she died in a ratty hospital in mexico under the care of...

this quack doctor.



Nixon & Bob Hope didnt die like this damn it!

[shanti]

6. what are you talking about?

have a link for that?

[951-Riverside]

8. Link

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/national/01hospitalbox.html?_r=1&oref=login

[shanti]

10. thank you n/t

[democracyindanger]

4. The King children

haven't done a very good job in preserving his legacy, in my opinion. I'm not surprised about this.

[Senator Obama]

14. I agree about the kids being negligent in preserving

Dr. Kings legacy. Those are tough shoes to fill and I don't know how I could ask any kid to fill them. After all, we didn't ask the same of any of the Kennedy's now did we? I believe I can understand the decision to have her funeral in the larger venue. After all her body will be viewed at Ebenezer the day before so its not like they are totally dissing her.

Obama

[Maddy McCall]

40. The King children were young when they lost their dad in a violent crime.

It's hard to judge in these circumstances. I just can't imagine the trajectory my life might have taken if, when I was a young child, my father had been murdered under the extraordinary circumstances MLK was killed.

I really feel sorry for the entire family. It is sad that such an brilliant star burned out so young, and his children couldn't live up to the legacy that many foisted upon them.

MLK was a great man. It's difficult for anyone to follow in those footsteps.

[CottonBear]

5. Mrs. King's body will be in public view at the original Ebenezer Baptist

Church from 10 a.m. to midnight on Monday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2082659applegrove (1000+ posts) Thu Feb-02-06 09:43 PM
Original message
King to lie in repose in Georgia Capitol
King to lie in repose in Georgia Capitol
Funeral for widow of civil rights leader scheduled for Tuesday
Friday, February 3, 2006 Posted: 0129 GMT (0929 HKT)
"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Coretta Scott King will lie in repose Saturday in the rotunda of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, and funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, according to a statement issued Thursday by the King family.
The public viewing at the Capitol for King, the widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., will be from noon to 8 p.m. ET, the statement said.
On Monday, King's body will be in public view at the original Ebenezer Baptist Church's Heritage Sanctuary from 10 a.m. to midnight.
....Skip
She was a member of the church, the family said, and her husband co-pastored there with his father from 1960 until his assassination eight years later.
...SNIP"
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/02/02/king.funeral/index...

edit: Her children should and have chosen where and how her funeral takes place. It is a family event event hough she was famous.

[AndyTiedye]

7. Same Daughter Who Campaigns Against Gay Marriage

and even led an anti-gay-marriage demonstration AT King's grave
(while MLK himself was no doubt spinning in it).

[CottonBear]

9. The funeral is for the family and children even though they may disagree

about many things. Same with most families.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Laughing Mirror]

17. Ever heard of this gay rights civil rights activist, MLK's right-hand man?

Strom Thurmond took to the floor of the United States Senate in July of 1963, and denounced the upcoming March on Washington by calling attention to Bayard Rustin's homosexuality. Thurmond's plan to ruin the event failed miserably when Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in defense of Rustin . At the same time, Jesse Helms was launching similar attacks from his home state of North Carolina.

http://maximum.lambda.net/rustin.html

[libnnc]

18. "flaunt one's sexuality"??

Who's flaunting? I just want the chance to exist without getting the shit beaten out of me.

Flaunting indeed.

[TankLV]

25. It would be nice to just HOLD HANDS even, for chrissake!

Yeah, we'd sure be "flaunting" it.

Imagine if we started kissing each other at airports and other public places!

But glad to know where our place is - in the closet - according to this self-described "civil rights" supporter who would be offfended at me!

He can take his phoney platitudes and shove them up his own ass, thankyouverymuch!

[libnnc]

26. *snap*

and a high-five!

:yourock:

[LostinVA]

32. It deserves to be at the forefront of civil rights, and shame on you

For your not-so-veiled homophobic comments. Gay rights are real civil rights, and how dare you try to make us sit figuratively in the back of the bus? Your comments are the same as that RW-loving guy TD Jakes. SICKENING.

Hey, I hated how Richard and Mildred LOving flaunted their interracial marriage. Wanting to be able to live in Virginia just like regular folks. Hell, they could be married and live together in DC, so what was the big deal? Making all that noise, getting the Supreme Court involved in it. Man, that could have been used as a wedge issue in the South and Midwest. SHAME on them for wanting to have equal rights.

Just a shameful post on this, the day of Mrs. King's laying in state.

SEnator Obama my pink-triangle ass. Your post makes me frigging sick. It drips with lies, intolerance, and fear.

Enjoy your stay here, SENATOR.

[Charlie Brown]

34. Disconnect?

"I do take offense to it being placed in the forefront of civil rights and having it used as a wedge issue against this party."

I take offense at being denied human dignity and refused the same rights as others b/c of who I am attracted to. The "wedge issue" you describe is a struggle for basic human decency that is pitting all compassionate and humane people against bigotry and hate (from many, who, incidentally also opposed civil rights for African-Americans).

"I don't equate a struggle for the right to flaunt one's sexuality with a stuggle for basic human equality."

I don't either. Thankfully, that's not what the gay rights movement is about. It's about being recognized as equal American Citizens, with every right, privillege and immunity that comes with that recognition. The Civil Rights movement is for people of ALL creeds, nationalities, identities, etc., and not just a single group. I am extremely grateful for the respect and solidarity the gay community has received from African-American civil rights leaders and icons over the years, and I think it's indicative of this common humanity between everyone who wants to be treated equally.

That's not a wedge issue, and it's certainly nothing to take offense at.

[cornermouse]

11. I wonder if Coretta would have approved?

[Senator Obama]

13. I'm wondering why...

she didn't already have funeral plans in place. She was elderly and had a lingering illness. I'm also wondering whose decision it was to place her in that holistic quack center in Mexico.

Obama

[cornermouse]

15. I wondered why she didn't already have funeral plans in place also.

The quack center is easier to understand since doctors here had told her she was terminal. At that point, there were no more alternatives available here.

[cornermouse]

16. The funeral should have been held at Ebenezer.

The symbolism of completing a life well-lived and coming full circle is just so obvious. Its too bad her children didn't understand this or else just chose to ignore it.

[newscott]

19. I'm guessing that it must have been practicality more than anything

They knew a LOT of dignitaries from AROUND THE WORLD would want to attend.

Should she not be accorded this honor?

I doubt that tiny Ebeneezer Baptist Church could have fit the bill per se.

Perhaps she should have left specific written instructions. Perhaps she did.

We're just all speculating anyway.

[cornermouse]

20. Whatever.

My own experience is that megachurches are basically a combination of a social organization and a show with occasional audience participation. I'm sure they'll show film footage on the giant screens, etc. ...Sort of like you find at a baseball game only indoors.

And as far as the world dignitaries? Where there's a will, there's a way. I suspect Ebenezer would have been more dignified and like I said more in keeping with her life.

[newscott]

23. I can't argue with that. But we are a McDonald's nation after all.

[cornermouse]

24. Yep. That we are.

[senaca]

21. This is why she should have laid in state at the U.S. Capital

Maybe I just don't get it, but to me she became the successor to Martin's work, even though there were many who have done great work in Civil Rights. She protected his legacy in a time of turmoil. Why could we not honor both their legacies nationally. It just doesn't feel right somehow.

[newscott]

22. I would have had no problem with that.

[Charlie Brown]

30. The King Family apparently disagrees with you

and it's their decision, not yours.

"Its too bad her children didn't understand this or else just chose to ignore it."

Do you know the Kings personally, or is this just speculation? Let the family have the funeral where they want.

[CatWoman]

27. the New Birth Church is nothing but a SCAM

http://newbirth.org/home.asp

I'm very disappointed to hear this.

[Akoto]

28. I'm wondering ...

Maybe this choice was made to throw off Fred Phelps' little hate mob, who were probably also expecting the funeral to be held at a different site? They've already made a big thing of their planning to attend for a protest.

[Charlie Brown]

29. The King family should be respected on this

This is their decision, not ours. They chose to have the funeral at New Birth, probably because Bernice is an elder there. This is not something that the press should be commenting on and pointing fingers on. It's there decision, not the public's, and not the Democrat's.

Bernice is King's daughter, and her right to mourn her mother's death is not something she should be deprived of b/c of political differences.

[CatWoman]

31. yeah

like it was her decision to team up with New Birth and lead an anti gay marriage march.

It broke her mother's heart.

[Charlie Brown]

36. Bernice's brothers and sisters were okay with this

I doubt they have disowned Bernice because of her views on gay marriage, and that would be a decidedly unchristian thing to do.

Bernice is the daughter of Coretta Scott King, this decision was made out of respect for Bernice, and that's not something people here should be commenting on.

[cornermouse]

33. This is not a private funeral.

Granted given her fame and history, it never would have been a private funeral, but your inference that Bernice would have been deprived of the ability to mourn her mother's death if the funeral had been held at Ebenezer is, well...bogus.

[Charlie Brown]

35. They obviously chose this site out of respect for Bernice

It's not my place to say if I agree or disagree with the decision. She's her daughter, and the King Family thought it appropriate to have the funeral at New Birth.

Whether or not it's a "public funeral" or not is irrelevant.

[cornermouse]

37. Stretchin' pretty hard for that one, weren't you...

Sorry it isn't convincing.

[Charlie Brown]

38. Not sure what you mean n/t