What did Martin Luther King think about gay people? (sixties, America, leader)

[SunnyKayak]

Coretta King, Martin Luther King widow once said in a public speech that everyone who believed in her husband’s dream should “make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”

Interesting article What did MLK think about gay people? – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

Interesting article What did MLK think about gay people? – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Quite a few civil rights activists who were allied and not allied with King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference were homosexual. Bayard Rustin comes to mind here as does Aaron Henry. I think King was tolerant of homosexuality.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

Quite a few civil rights activists who were allied and not allied with King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference were homosexual. Bayard Rustin comes to mind here as does Aaron Henry. I think King was tolerant of homosexuality.

And yes, King stuck by Rustin under pressure from other civil rights leaders to distance himself from Rustin, I think.

[kevxu]

Originally Posted by silverkris

And yes, King stuck by Rustin under pressure from other civil rights leaders to distance himself from Rustin, I think.

King may have also been very practical, gay or not Rustin was a valuable organizer, a first rate man to have around. King would not be the first leader in time to ignore someone's homosexuality in order to be able to have the use of their talents and skills.

This is how many homosexuals achieved success in the conservative business world in the Fifties and Sixties.

[ddmhughes]

I'm sure that MLK would have supported the gay rights movement and if he was alive today he would be one of the most vocal supporters of gay marriage. Not all Christians are against gays (Just the loudest ones).

Christianity tends to bring social change slowly and by working inside the system not against it. For example the abolition movement and the Armenian Genocide relief movement to name a few. The most pressing social issue in America at the time was the unfair treatment of blacks. It was right for Him and others to focus on that before they moved on to other groups (Gays, Poor, Disabled, etc.). If you couldn't even get society to allow blacks to use the same restroom how could anyone realistic hope that they could get society to change enough to except gays.

[ovcatto]

Not only was Rustin gay, he was openly gay and had been arrested on morals charges as well. There was no secret about Rustin's sexual preference and he was defended by King and the other leaders of the time. Rustin's career as a political organizer predated King's and continue after his death when he was made the Director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute.