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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter Bernice has a long history of anti-LGBT activism, including help with Bishop Eddie Long's infamous 2004 march through the streets of Atlanta protesting the gay community. But during yesterday's MLK celebrations Bernice hinted that she's evolved.
Shocking many gays and lesbians in a crowd gathered to hear her speak, Bernice for the first time ditched the derogatory use of "homosexual" to embrace the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The speech about building unity saw King imploring Americans to come together with their communities, whether black, white, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender.
According to the Georgia Voice:
Rev. Maressa Pendermon, a minister with LGBT-inclusive Unity Fellowship Church, said she at first intended to tune out King because of her anti-gay past, but decided to pay attention one more time.
For her father's vision to be realized we've got to come together across boundaries and then she got in preacher mode. Then she said ‘heterosexual or homosexual,’ and then backed up and said ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.’ We need all of us,” Pendermon said.
There's always room for growth,” Pendermon said, describing her reaction to King's words. “People grow and people change. Sometimes we don't let them. I wasn't expecting that. And I was already ready to shut down but I challenged myself to listen and I'm glad I listened.”
Only time will tell if Bernice King has left behind her dark days of working to ruin the lives of gay Americans to follow more closely in her father's footsteps.
(Source & Image source: GA Voice)
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