Put out welcome mat.Byline: The Register-Guard The Rev. Walter Fauntroy wouldn't be anyone's choice of a keynote speaker for a gay pride event. But he would be near the top of the list of anyone planning a celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. And rightfully so. The 73-year-old Southern Baptist minister was a close associate of King throughout the civil rights movement. In 1961, King appointed Fauntroy to coordinate Southern Christian Leadership Conference Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. pivotal efforts in the nation's capital. Fauntroy helped plan the historic 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. After King's death, Fauntroy oversaw the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change in Atlanta, and he served 20 years as the Washington, D.C., delegate to the House of Representatives where he helped found the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Black Caucus, organization of African-American members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 1970, it addresses legislative concerns of African Americans and other minority citizens, such as employment, welfare reform, minority business . Fauntroy's credentials are more than a matter of history. Currently, he is president of the National Black Leadership Roundtable and head of the Millennium Villages Project The Earth Institute at Columbia University’s Millennium Villages Project is a “bottom up” approach to lifting developing country villages out of the poverty trap that afflicts more than a billion people worldwide. , a visionary private-sector initiative to eliminate extreme poverty in Africa African nations typically fall toward the bottom of any list measuring economic activity, such as per capita income or per capita GDP, despite a wealth of natural resources. The bottom 25 spots of the United Nations (UN) quality of life index are regularly filled by African nations. by 2025. Few, if any, Americans are more qualified to talk about King's message and example. Yet Fauntroy's scheduled appearance in Eugene has prompted opposition from local gay and lesbian leaders and others who cite his outspoken support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Last month, the Eugene Human Rights Commission voted to withhold its support for the celebration because of Fauntroy's stand on same-sex marriage. Last week, the panel wisely voted to restore its support for the celebration, while affirming its commitment to the principles of the city's human rights law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. . A statement issued by Chairwoman Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. Urbina described the commission's initial decision to withdraw support as "heart-wrenching." It was also unnecessary. Fauntroy's decision to join other black ministers in public support of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in no way diminished or negated his extraordinary qualifications to talk about King and the civil rights movement to which both men dedicated their lives. Moreover, the idea that the human rights commission's support for the MLK MLK Martin Luther King MLK Milk MLK Medialess License Kit celebration should hinge on a 73-year-old Southern Baptist minister advocating only views on gay rights deemed acceptable by the commission seems presumptuous pre·sump·tu·ous adj. Going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward. [Middle English, from Old French presumptueux, from Late Latin praes , to put it mildly. Greg Evans, a member of the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee of Lane County, notes that Fauntroy supports gay rights in general but not the legalization LEGALIZATION. The act of making lawful. 2. By legalization, is also understood the act by which a judge or competent officer authenticates a record, or other matter, in order that the same may be lawfully read in evidence. Vide Authentication. of same-sex marriage. At what point in the polarizing debate over gay rights did an individual's position on same-sex marriage become a litmus test? On Monday, Eugene City Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Bonny Bettman introduced two misguided motions during a joint City Council-human rights commission meeting. The first sought to withdraw city support for this year's celebration and a punitive second called for the city to sponsor its own MLK event next year. Both thankfully died for a lack of a second. One of King's core messages is of the transforming power of peaceful engagement and truthful dialogue. Those who deeply and passionately support same-sex marriage - and who believe that a constitutional amendment banning it represents discrimination - should accept Fauntroy's offer to meet with them during his visit. When they do, they might also welcome him to Eugene. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion