Editorial by Pam Cole

Atlanta, GA, Feb. 6, 2006—We are in mourning here in Atlanta. We are actively mourning the death of Coretta Scott King. The whole sky is draped black in mourning, as the coldest rain of the year falls steadily. Thousands of us are standing in that cold pelting rain, dressed in our Sunday finest, with umbrellas, wheelchairs, strollers, waiting patiently for hours to spend a few seconds with Mrs. King and say our own goodbyes. We are soaked by the time we stand before the remains of the First Lady of the civil rights movement, silently, reverently, and then move on, back into the cold rainy day.

They will come this way for hours, until midnight, when the doors of the historic but modest Ebenezer Baptist Church will close and the body will be moved to a bigger church, one that holds 10,000 people. For tomorrow, on Tuesday, the whole world will come to Atlanta to pay respects to a woman who never held office, never wrote a best-selling novel, never starred in a film. Coretta Scott King became famous by steadfastly continuing the civil rights work of her husband, which began here in Atlanta over 40 years ago. With poise and persistence and an uncommon elegance she carried his message of equality and non-violence around the world.

Yesterday, they came to the Capitol Building, the shining gold dome in the center of the city, where her body lay in state. 42,000 came, old and young, black and white, to pray and participate in homage. She was the first woman to lie in state in this historically racist, confederate Capitol--and the first African American. Her four children were embraced at the doors of the dome by Gov. Sonny Perdue, a white man who was elected on the promise to try and return the confederate flag as a symbol of this state.

I was born just blocks from Ebenezer Baptist Church, which now stands across the street from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in downtown Atlanta, and I have lived here most of my life. I was a small girl when Rev. King was gunned down in Memphis and I remember seeing my white Democrat, prejudiced parents watching the television in shock. I think even they were surprised at how horrified they were by his death. I didn't understand what was going on--I had never heard of this Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. My parents ignored me and my repeated questions, until I finally asked "Daddy, why would anyone want to kill a preacher?" Without taking his eyes from the television, my father faltered and then said, "Because he was colored," using the only polite reference he knew for a black man. "Oh…," I said, instantly understanding as much as a small child (or anyone) could understand about such a senseless crime. In the South in 1968, it was not uncommon to hear about men who had been killed simply because they were "colored."

I grew up in a city that was forever changed by that event and as a result, I do not carry the prejudice of my parents. Since King's death, this town has been absorbing his message through a kind of historic osmosis. And we are blessed with leaders who emanate from that time, who learned at the heels of Rev. King: Ambassador Andrew Young, Representative John Lewis, the great Mayor Maynard Jackson, and our current Mayor Shirley Franklin. And Coretta, who was always a presence, always a gentle spirit reminding us of Martin and what he would have done. (I met her twice, both times astonished by her beauty and her presence. Coretta was regal, stunning. A great beauty who never remarried.) Atlanta has been called "the city too busy to hate," a direct descendent of his message of non-violence. Racism still exists here in Georgia, but in Atlanta it has dwindled as Atlantans have struggled to learn to live and work together, to accept one another's differences. It hasn't always been easy, but it's what Martin, and Coretta, taught us to do.

This is not an article about The L Word. But it is about the loss of one of our most visible and respected gay rights supporters. Coretta Scott King was an ardent proponent of civil rights for all people, including gays and lesbians. She voiced her support for us on many occasions:

In June 1994, she called on congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, saying "I support this legislation because lesbian and gay people are a permanent part of the American workforce, who currently have no protection from the arbitrary abue of their rights on the job. For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law." She went on to say, "I see this bill as a step forward for freedom and human rights in our country and a logical extension of the Bill of Rights and the civil rights reforms of the 1950s and '60s."

In March 1998, she said "I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr. said 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin's dream to make room at the table of brother-and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people."

In November 2000, she addressed the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force here in Atlanta, saying "Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender or ethnic discrimination."

And in April 2004, she spoke out in support of same-sex marriage, saying, "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."

Our community has lost a great advocate in Coretta Scott King. New leaders steeped in the vision of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream will have to come forth and take her place. Today in Atlanta, that was the promise of many who passed in review of this great lady for the last time on this earth.

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