[Posted Jan. 23, 2008]

M.L. King Holiday Day Rally Is Clashing Symbols In S.C.

By Monroe Anderson
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspapers

COLUMBIA, S.C.—The massive commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here turned out to be an outing where symbols clashed.
      There was the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, and what his life and death symbolized. There were clashing posters from the presidential campaigns of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama waving and weaving in the crowd of thousands as supporters fought to out-represent each other.

White residents wrapped in the Confederate flag, waiving hateful signs at King Rally goers.

     And there was the Confederate flag, offensive-to-some, a sign-of-Southern-pride to others, hanging limply from a pole on the edge of the state capitol’s front lawn.
The more than 3-hour-long rally, sponsored by the NAACP, ostensibly was designed to honor the legacy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the national holiday named in his memory.
      But it was also a day for politics with the three leading presidential candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination each on stage and speaking 10 minutes while they courted critical Black votes, then just five days away from the state’s important primary.
      For neck-and-neck candidates Obama and Clinton, while praising Dr. King’s life, his legacy took on immediate importance.
Obama took a subtle swipe at Clinton’s repeated insinuation that Obama may be too young and inexperienced for the White House.
“Before there was King the icon with the magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher,” he told the hundreds gathered in front of the state capitol.

     Obama then went on to connect what King represented in the modern civil rights era with his quest in these modern political times.
     “In a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change and many still doubted ourselves, King inspired words, not of anger, but of urgency that still speaks to us today,” Obama said. “He said, ‘Unity is the great need of the hour.’ South Carolina, unity is still the great need of this hour.”
Clinton, who spoke last, echoed the unity theme and the slain civil rights leader life as well.
“Dr. King taught us that in the end, we are all connected,” she said.
      The New York senator responded to Obama’s remark.
      “Scripture tells us that we cannot just be hearers of the word, we must be doers,” she said. “That faith without works is dead.”

      Before Obama, John Edwards and Clinton, some speakers said the Confederate flag’s close proximity to the capitol dome sullied the legacy of Dr. King.
     “That flag needs to be an insult not only to Blacks,” said Floyd Keith, executive director of Black Coaches and Administrators in Indianapolis. “That damn flag has to go down.”
      Before he took his place on the platform with other dignitaries, Princeton University professor Cornel West stood among the crowd of supporters, taking note of the flag, obviously disturbed by its presence.
      West, an author and religion instructor, was not quite as disturbed that a large number of Black leaders have decided to support Clinton rather than his candidate, Obama.
     “Any time you got new leadership, you’re going to have all kinds of differences, jealousies and so on,” he said.
      West said he thought what differentiated Obama’s candidacy was “the Third World impact” he’d have as president.
      Connie Mitchell, an Obama volunteer from Columbia, said she backed the African-American candidate because she also thought he would bring change to Washington.
     “Some of the points he originally started, they’re now picking up on,” she said.
      Thelma M. Harrison, 84, proudly wore her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority colors and letters along with an Obama campaign button.
      She said she never thought she’d see the day when a Black man might actually become president of the United States.

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