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Alveda King
Alveda King at a 2009 rally by Pro-Life Unity.
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 28th district
In office
1979–1981
Preceded by Virginia Shapard[1]
Succeeded by Bob Holmes[2]
Personal details
Born (1951-01-22) January 22, 1951 (age 61)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Spouse(s) Eddie Clifford Beal (Divorced)
Mr. Ellis (Divorced)
Mr. Tookes[3] (Divorced)
Children Eddie Clifford Beal III
Darlene Celeste Beal
Jarrett Ellis
3 others
Residence Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma mater Central Michigan University (M.A.)
Occupation minister, political activist, author
Religion Christian
Website http://www.kingforamerica.com

Alveda Celeste King (born January 22, 1951)[4] is an American Christian minister,[5] conservative, pro-life activist, and author. She is a niece of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of the late civil rights activist Rev. A. D. William King, Sr. and his wife Naomi Barber King. She is the full-time Pastoral Associate of African-American Outreach for the Roman Catholic pro-life group, Priests for Life.[6] She once served as a Senior Fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a conservative Washington, D.C. think-tank. She is a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and the founder of King for America. She has been married and divorced three times.

Contents

Childhood and family

Alveda King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the first of five children of A. D. King, the younger brother of Martin Luther King Jr., and Naomi Barber King. She says her mother wanted to abort her so she could continue college but her Grandfather was able to convince her to keep her child.[7] When she was 12, her father became a leader of the Birmingham campaign while serving as pastor at the First Baptist Church of Ensley in Birmingham, Alabama. Later that same year, King’s house was bombed by opponents to the civil rights movement. In 1969, Ms. King married.[8]

Father's death

Only a week later, her father, A.D. King, was found dead in the pool at his home after a long bout with alcoholism and depression.[9] The cause of death was listed as an accidental drowning.[10][11][12][13] Grandfather King said in his autobiography, "Alveda had been up the night before, she said, talking with her father and watching a television movie with him.[14] He'd seemed unusually quiet...and not very interested in the film. But he had wanted to stay up and Alveda left him sitting in an easy chair, staring at the TV, when she went off to bed... I had questions about A.D.'s death and I still have them now. He was a good swimmer. Why did he drown? I don't know -- I don't know that we will ever know what happened."

Abortions

She had two abortions and attempted to get a third one. When she became pregnant, she says her doctor, without the family's knowledge, gave her an abortion.[15] She was divorced soon after that. When she was pregnant in 1973, she went to Planned Parenthood and got a second abortion.[16] Later, she wanted to get a third abortion, but neither the father nor her grandfather would pay for it.[17]

Education

King studied journalism[18] and sociology as an undergraduate, and she received a Master of Arts degree in business management from Central Michigan University. She received an honorary doctorate from Saint Anselm College.[6] In Salon.com, King explained her honorary degree: "I guess for my stand on the support of marriage, and family, and education, and life."[19]

Career

Public office

From 1979 to 1981, King represented the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives.[20] The district included Fulton County,[21] and King served as a Democrat.[19] In 1984, King ran for the seat of Georgia's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and supported the Rev. Jesse Jackson for president.[22] The 5th Congressional seat, at the time of King's campaign was held by Wyche Fowler. Andrew Young, who held the seat prior to Fowler, endorsed Hosea Williams. Hosea Williams was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most trusted lieutenants and perhaps best known for organizing and leading the first Selma March.[23] Coretta Scott King did not endorse her niece. Young, who had given up the seat to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and Williams approached King and asked her to end her campaign for the seat so that she could dedicate more time to her family. Young later apologized for what he called "some blatantly chauvinistic remarks."[24] She did not withdraw. With the black vote split, Fowler defeated both King and Williams in the primary. That was the last time she ran for elective office.

Pro-life activism

King is a pro-life speaker and often speaks on college campuses about abortion issues.[25] She joined the pro-life movement, crusading to offer women alternatives to abortion.[26] Angela D. Dillard classifies King as among "prominent black members of the Religious Right".[27] Alveda King is currently a board member of Georgia Right to Life.[6]

Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally

On August 28, 2010, King spoke at Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial.[28] Before the rally King explained to the Christian Science Monitor that speaking at the rally was a chance to engage in freedom of speech and to praise the man, Lincoln, that "led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free."[29] ABC News reported that in King's speech, she hoped that "white privilege will become human privilege and that America will soon repent of the sin of racism and return itself to honor."[30]

Herman Cain Support

King was a supporter of Cain for President and defended him from sexual harassment claims, saying, "A woman knows a skirt-chaser" and "Herman Cain is no skirt-chaser."[31] She also came up with the organization "Women for Cain." [32]

Views

Abortion

Alveda King says "Mrs. Coretta Scott King knew that her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was pro-life", regarding Martin Luther King Jr. winning the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood in 1966.[33] In 1994, Alveda King wrote a letter condemning Coretta Scott King's support for abortion and gay marriage.[19] According to Fox News, Alveda King has "long argued" that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican.[34] In contradiction to King's statement, however, University of Cambridge historian David Garrow stated in a Salon profile of Alveda King regarding Martin Luther King: "King was not only not a Republican, he was well to the left of the Democratic Party of the 1960s [....] It’s also well-documented that Dr. King was a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood."[19] Also, after the Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater (who voted against the Civil Rights Act) and Strom Thurmond became a Republican, Dr. King actively campaigned against Goldwater.[35]

After civil rights leader Rosa Parks died in 2005, King said Parks was a symbol for the pro-life movement[36] (even though she had served on the Board of Advocates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America).[37]

Gay rights

King has spoken out against gay rights. At a 1997 rally in Sacramento protesting proposed state legislation to extend anti-discrimination laws relating to housing and employment to gays and lesbians, King said: "To equate homosexuality with race is to give a death sentence to civil rights. No one is enslaving homosexuals...or making them sit in the back of the bus."[38]

In a 1998 speech at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: "Homosexuality cannot be elevated to the civil rights issue. The civil rights movement was born from the Bible. God hates homosexuality."[39] King had been making public appearances throughout 1997 criticizing gay rights.[40]

King is also noted for her opposition to same-sex marriage,[41] and came under criticism for her August 2010 remarks likening gay marriage to "genocide".[42] In 2012, King said in reference to the NAACP support of same-sex marriages that "Neither my great-grandfather an NAACP founder, my grandfather Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. an NAACP leader, my father Rev. A. D. Williams King, nor my uncle Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced the homosexual agenda that the current NAACP is attempting to label as a civil rights agenda..." [43] even though Coretta Scott-King, widow of late Martin Luther King, was fully supportive of same-sex marriage and strongly believed that her husband would have been too.[[1]].

Works

King has written the following books:

  • For generations to come: Poetry by Alveda King Beal (as Alveda King Beal) (1986)
  • The Arab Heart (as Alveda King Beal) (1986)
  • Sons of Thunder: The King Family Legacy (2003)
  • I Don't Want Your Man, I Want My Own (2001)
  • Who We Are In Christ Jesus (2008)
  • How Can the Dream Survive If We Murder the Children?: ABORTION IS NOT A CIVIL RIGHT! (2008)

She also released a CD called Let Freedom Ring in 2005,[44] and she has appeared in film and television as both Alveda King[45] and Alveda King Beal.[46] The Human Experience, a 2010 documentary film, featured commentary from King.

References

  1. ^ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, 1, 1978, p. 2743, http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ssp/cgi-bin/legis-idx.pl?sessionid=7f000001&type=backdiv&byte=390832349 
  2. ^ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, 1, 1983, p. 1966, http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ssp/cgi-bin/legis-idx.pl?sessionid=7f000001&type=backdiv&byte=444289254 
  3. ^ "Property valuation of Reunion Place, Atlanta, GA". http://www.city-data.com/fulton-county/R/Reunion-Place-3.html. Retrieved 10/23/2010. "1090 Reunion Place"  Title was transferred for $0 to Israel Tookes
  4. ^ http://www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican/naacp-presentation.pdf
  5. ^ "Dr. Alveda C. King, Pastoral Associate, Priests for Life, & Director, African American Outreach". Priests For Life. August 29, 2010. http://www.priestsforlife.org/staff/alvedaking.htm. Retrieved August 29, 2010. "Dr. King currently serves as a Pastoral Associate and Director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries." 
  6. ^ a b c "Dr. Alveda C. King". Priests for Life. http://www.priestsforlife.org/staff/alvedaking.htm. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
  7. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Event occurs at 04:40. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzTsrMTmRcY. Retrieved 10/05/2010. 
  8. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Event occurs at 01:30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzTsrMTmRcY. Retrieved 10/05/2010. 
  9. ^ Taylor Branch (September 4, 2010). "Dr. King’s Newest Marcher". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/opinion/05branch.html. Retrieved September 9, 2010. "in fact A. D. King drowned at home after a long bout with alcohol and depression. -- Taylor Branch,author of the Pulitzer prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King" 
  10. ^ "The Rev. A. D. Williams King". Time. August 1, 1969. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901197,00.html. Retrieved November 1, 2007. 
  11. ^ "Bomb Hits Home in Birmingham". New York Times. August 1, 1963. http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_king_alfred_daniel_williams_1930_1969/. Retrieved November 1, 2007. 
  12. ^ "Introduction in Papers". Introduction in Papers 1:26; 43.. 
  13. ^ "A Rights Activist". Thomas A. Johnson, New York Times. July 22, 1969. 
  14. ^ Daddy King An Autobiography. Morrow. 1980. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-688-03699-7. OCLC 6422326. 
  15. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Event occurs at 02:07. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzTsrMTmRcY. Retrieved 10/05/2010. 
  16. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Event occurs at 03:51. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzTsrMTmRcY. Retrieved 10/05/2010. 
  17. ^ Alveda King (1/22/2008). Alveda King talking about abortion. In front of the Supreme Court building. Event occurs at 03:51. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzTsrMTmRcY. Retrieved 10/05/2010. 
  18. ^ Hamilton Bims (1974). "'He Never Gives Us More Than We Can Bear'". Ebony (Johnson Publishing Company) 29 (12): 38. ISSN 0012-9011. http://books.google.com/books?id=JN4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38. 
  19. ^ a b c d Denvir, Daniel (August 27, 2010). "Meet MLK's Glenn Beck-loving niece". Salon. http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/27/alveda_king_glenn_beck/index.html. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
  20. ^ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, 1, 1979, p. 2059, http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ssp/cgi-bin/legis-idx.pl?sessionid=7f000001&type=backdiv&byte=401428692 
  21. ^ "Women in the Georgia House of Representatives, 1923 - 2000". Georgia Secretary of State. http://sos.georgia.gov/archives/what_do_we_have/wghr.htm. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
  22. ^ "Alveda King Beal Seeks A Congressional Seat, Supports Jesse Jackson", Jet 66 (7): p. 13, April 23, 1984, http://books.google.com/books?id=bbQDAAAAMBAJ 
  23. ^ "Reverend Hosea Williams". Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/Hosea_Williams.htm. Retrieved May 16, 2012. 
  24. ^ "CAMPAIGN NOTES; 'Chauvinistic Remarks' Conceded by Young". New York Times. July 12, 1984. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/12/us/campaign-notes-chauvinistic-remarks-conceded-by-young.html. Retrieved August 29, 2010. "The Mayor also conceded that when Mrs. Beal said she objected to his "chauvinistic attitude," he had told her that her uncle, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and her father, the Rev. Alfred King, were "male chauvinist pigs, too."" 
  25. ^ "Dr. Alveda King featured speaker at pro-life rally | Spero News". Speroforum.com. http://www.speroforum.com/a/17811/Dr-Alveda-King-featured-speaker-at-prolife-rally. Retrieved September 5, 2010. 
  26. ^ Jacob, Jennifer (October 31, 2009). "Alveda King visits Meridian with pro-life message". Meridian Star. http://www.meridianstar.com/local/local_story_304013404.html. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  27. ^ Dillard, Angela D. (2002). Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Now?: Multicultural Conservatism in America. New York City: NYU Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-8147-1940-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=rjSIev7NEMUC. 
  28. ^ MacAskill, Ewen (August 28, 2010). "US right claims spirit of Martin Luther King at Lincoln Memorial rally". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/28/us-right-king-lincoln-memorial. Retrieved August 29, 2010. 
  29. ^ King, Alveda (August 26, 2010). "Glenn Beck 8/28 rally: It's a matter of honor". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0826/Glenn-Beck-8-28-rally-It-s-a-matter-of-honor. Retrieved August 29, 2010. "If we want to sing the national anthem at a memorial to the man who led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free, we should be able to send our voices soaring to the heavens. Glenn Beck's “Rally to Restore Honor” this Saturday will give us that chance, and that’s why I feel it's important for me to be there." 
  30. ^ Dolak, Kevin (August 28, 2010). "Alveda King Speaks at Glenn Beck's DC Rally". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=11504453. Retrieved August 29, 2010. 
  31. ^ "Cain supporter insists ‘Herman Cain is no skirt-chaser’". Cain 2012. November 30, 2011. http://www.hermancain.com/video/cain_supporter_insists_herman_cain_is_no_skirt_chaser. 
  32. ^ Lauren Fox (December 2, 2011). "Herman Cain Gets Women to Counter Sex Harassment Claims". US News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/12/02/herman-cain-gets-women-to-counter-sex-harassment-claims. 
  33. ^ Cassandra, Adam (August 27, 2010). "Dr. Alveda King: ‘Coretta Scott King Knew That Her Husband Was Pro-Life'". CNSNews.com. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/71648. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  34. ^ Abrams, Joseph (July 14, 2009). "Billboard Claiming Martin Luther King Was Republican Angers Black Activists in Houston". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/14/billboard-claiming-martin-luther-king-republican-angers-black-activists-houston. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  35. ^ "Dr. King Foresees 'Social Disruption' If Goldwater Wins". New York Times: p. 66. September 13, 1964. "It is important for all responsible persons, he said, to see that Mr. Goldwater is defeated.There were 'dangerous signs of Hitlerism' in the program of the Republican candidate, Dr. King declared." 
  36. ^ http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/civil_rights_pioneer_rosa_parks_dies_at_92_prolife_leaders_call_her_inspirational/
  37. ^ http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=447
  38. ^ "Quote, unquote", The Advocate (743): p. 8, September 30, 1997, http://books.google.com/books?id=xWMEAAAAMBAJ 
  39. ^ "Quote, unquote", The Advocate (756): p. 10, March 31, 1998, http://books.google.com/books?id=5mMEAAAAMBAJ 
  40. ^ Gallagher, John (December 9, 1997), "Blacks and gays: the unexpected divide", The Advocate (748): pp. 37–38, http://books.google.com/books?id=j2MEAAAAMBAJ 
  41. ^ NationForMarriage.org (August 8, 2010). "Alveda King on Marriage for National Organization for Marriage Bus Tour in Atlanta, Georgia". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6iXtiQcPr4. Retrieved August 9, 2010. "... " 
  42. ^ King, Alveda (August 8, 2010). Alveda King on Marriage for National Organization for Marriage Bus Tour in Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6iXtiQcPr4. 
  43. ^ christiannewswire.com (May 22, 2012). "African American Leaders Decry NAACP Endorsement of Homosexual Agenda, Say Issue also Linked to Abortion". http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8460119770.html. Retrieved May 23, 2012. 
  44. ^ "Alveda King". CD Baby. http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/AlvedaKing. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
  45. ^ IMDb profile of Alveda King
  46. ^ IMDb profile of Alveda King Beal

External links
Head and shoulders of a black man in a dark suit leaning on a lecturn, with his hands grasping the lecturn's top. Light comes from above and leaves the lower half of his round face in deep shadow. His hair is closely cropped and he has a pencil-thin mustache. He looks up over the reader's right shoulder, his full lips barely open, as if thinking what his next words will be.
 
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