The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

Senator Sam Brownback issued a statement today following the news of civil rights icon Coretta Scott King:

“I was greatly saddened to hear of Mrs. King’s passing,” said Brownback. “Mrs. King was a courageous and valiant woman who held our nation accountable to the principles of peace, equality and equal rights for all Americans. Her strength and fortitude helped America rise to the challenge of non-violent social change.

“I had the pleasure of meeting with Mrs. King several years ago. She was a role model for those of us working toward racial reconciliation in this country. Mrs. King and her husband saw the possibilities of a nation united, not divided by race or other divisions, and we owe it to them to continue this legacy of compassion and change.

I completely agree. One of the most admirable traits possessed by Mrs. King was her insisitence that the equality movement be inclusive. The following are some excerpts of her comments at the Creating Change Conference in 2000:

I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. 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.

My husband, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny…an inescapable network of mutuality.… I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.” Therefore, I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.

I hope that someday Senator Brownback will be able to embrace the sort of universal equality that Coretta Scott King so eloquently expressed.

[Hat tip to Pam’s House Blend. If you aren’t reading her daily you are missing out]