MLK's Son on His Father's Dream

There are many who have tried to repackage Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream for equality in America to fit their own purposes - purposes often opposed to what MLK actually stood for. Namely, equality for all citizens and not just African American citizens. In the context of such equality, the end of discrimination based on sexual orientation was one of King's goals as was enunciated by Martin Luther King's widow, Coretta Scott King, before her death. Now anti-immigrant hate merchant Glenn Beck is poised to hold a "Restoring Honor" event on the Washington, D.C., Mall at the Lincoln Memorial with an obvious intent of pilfering legitimacy for the event by virtue of its location and public memories of King's "I Have Dream Speech." It's no coincidence that the descendants of those who quoted the Bible to justify racial segregation are using the same tactic to denigrate and support anti-gay discrimination. To set the record straight in regard to his father's dream and goals, Martin Luther King, III, has a timely op-ed in the Washington Post. Here are some highlights:
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[I]t is clear from the timing and location that the rally's organizers present this event as also honoring the ideals and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. I would like to be clear about what those ideals are.
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Vast numbers of Americans know of my father's leadership in opposing segregation. Yet too many believe that his dream was limited to achieving racial equality. Certainly he sought that objective, but his vision was about more than expanding rights for a single race.
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My father championed free speech. He would be the first to say that those participating in Beck's rally have the right to express their views. But his dream rejected hateful rhetoric and all forms of bigotry or discrimination, whether directed at race, faith, nationality, sexual orientation or political beliefs. He envisioned a world where all people would recognize one another as sisters and brothers in the human family.
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[M]y father did not claim to have an exclusionary "plan" that laid out God's word for only one group or ideology. He marched side by side with members of every religious faith. Like Abraham Lincoln, my father did not claim that God was on his side; he prayed humbly that he was on God's side. He did, however, wholeheartedly embrace the "social gospel."
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My experiences affirm the enduring truth of my father's words: that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and that "we are all bound together in a single garment of destiny." I pray that all Americans will embrace the challenge of social justice and the unifying spirit that my father shared with his compatriots.
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Sadly, the professional Christian set has rejected King's dream. Instead they market in hate, alienation, bigotry and most of hypocrisy thus proving themselves to be modern day Pharisees. America would be a far better place without their poisonous version of religion.