Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 37

NATION MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2005 37 LEE PUBUCAnONS, INC. Jackson says war, poverty dampen ling's legacy I family reflects larger debate over gay unions Snimii I if ATLANTA (AP) Martin Luther King youngest child lit a torch at her father's tomb last month to kick off a march advocating a ban on gay marriage, creating a strong image linking the slain civil rights icon to today's heated social debate. But just nine months earlier, King's widow defended the rights of gays and lesbians in a speech at a New Jersey college. King never publicly spoke on gay rights while leading the charge toward racial equality in the 1950s and '60s, but the clash over gay JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) War, poverty, violence and social injustice are dampening Martin Luther King legacy as the nation prepares to celebrate the slain civil rights leader's birthday, the Rev.

Jesse Jackson told a church gathering Sunday. In a passionate speech at Dixon Grove Baptist Church in Jones-boro, south of King's native Atlanta, Jackson assailed the war in Iraq and insisted the gap between rich and poor in America is widening despite King's message of peace and equality. "It's easy to admire Dr. King," Jackson told the 650 people at the church. "It's a challenge to follow him." Jackson, who was standing beneath the motel balcony where King was fatally shot in Memphis, on April 4, 1968, suggested a good birthday present to King would be for Americans to strive more for financial and social equality.

"You can be out of slavery and out of segregation and have the right to vote and starve to death without access to capital and industry," Jackson said. He added, "You got the birthday. But do you have the legacy? The legacy is to fight for jobs, justice, health care, education and end to war" Jackson, founder and president of the RainbowPUSH Coalition, said the war in Iraq is a quagmire of death and destruction with no end in sight. "We call the home team the insurgents and we're the home Jackson said sarcastically. "Dr.

King, what are we doing?" More events commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday were scheduled for Monday, when the nation celebrates marriage has prompted people dose to his legacy to pick sides and interpret how they believe King would stand on the issue if he were alive. Coretta Scott King, a longtime supporter of gay rights, has often invoked her late hus band's teachings while advocating tolerance and equality for homosexuals. Most recently, she denounced the proposed national constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in a speech at New Jersey's Richard Stockton College "Gay and lesbian people have families and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civilunion," she said in her March 23 address. "A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.

Martin Luther King IE, an organizer of the 40th anniversary commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington, joined his mother in inviting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups to participate But although he opposes discrimination against gays, he has stopped short of supporting same-sex marriage, saying, "I think we need to find a way to honor partnerships, but I don't think that marriage needs to be Associated Press Martin Luther King Jr. addresses marchers during his 'I Have a Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached until his death.

Meanwhile, volunteers with Hosea Feed the Hungry and Home less will be busy serving thousands at Turner Field for its annual King Day dinner. King's birthday. Thousands are expected to gather in downtown Atlanta for the 19th annual march and rally honoring King in his hometown. The march will follow a morning commemorative service, attended by the King family and other dignitaries, at the MLICs widow reflects on marriage, her husband's legacy tion in the form of an interview with PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley. King's appearance was part of the 12th annual Hands on Atlanta Martin Luther King Jr.

Service Summit. The event continues through Monday. Dressed in a red suit and wearing her signature coif, King said her husband's "moral voice" is missing from American society but she is committed to spreading his teachings a task she said she embraced during her marriage "As we were thrust into the King Center, a memorial and resource center honoring him, became Coretta Scott King's legacy and vision, along with raising her children. "When he died, I knew I didn't have his abilities and skills, but I have my own," she said. Marni Rogers, 34, said attending the event was an inspirational and educational experience "To see her in Ebenezer being interviewed was a his- torical moment, very moving," she said.

cause, it was my cause, too," she said. "I married the man and the cause. I realized too, could be killed." King said she helped her husband through times of disappointment when he grew weary of his fight for equality, adding that he was frequently depressed when people would riot. "I would tell him, 'You're the only one who's making any sense right she said. "I tried to think of positive, uplifting and true things to say." After King's death, the been lived out in Iraq, we wouldn't have bin Laden," she said.

King reminisced about her life with and without the slain civil rights leader in an appearance at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Hundreds of people filled the pews and stood in the aisles to hear her speak in the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. was preacher from 1960 until his death in 1968 at age 39. "I have many, many memories of being in this sanctuary," King said in a presenta ATLANTA (AP) Sitting in the same spot where her husband preached equality more than four decades ago, Coretta Scott King said Saturday that Martin Luther King message is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s. "It's as if he were writing for this period," King said in a rare public appearance on what would have been her husband's 76th birthday.

"Nonviolence would work today, it would work 2,000 years from now, it would work 5,000 years from now. "If Martin's philosophy had.