Reign in the Kings - update

Last week, I blogged about Martin Luther King Jr's children squabbling over $1.4 million of their mother's belongings. Well this week they've found something to unite around -- other people's money.

AP News reported on Nov. 13 that the King Family Seeks to Cash in on MLK-Obama Items. The King kids realized that all kinds trinkets were selling with Dr. King and President elect Obama's likeness, and they were incensed.

As guardians of Dr. King's likeness, the children plan to zealously pursue anyone selling Dr. King's likeness to ensure they get their cut. Or... as one of them so articulately put it, "If you make a dollar, we should make a dime. That's not happening now."

Nice.

By the time we get to Arizona

For Barack Obama irony, if not victory, might await in Arizona. Depending on whose polls you believe, the Democrat could be on the verge of an electoral landslide. He has made significant gains in a whole range of battleground states and now turns his money and attention to Arizona, the home of his opponent, Sen. John McCain. 

I can't say that I blame Obama. The only thing better than a wipe out would be one that includes Arizona. That would be the ultimate poke in the eye, and McCain knows it. Now he has to divert funds allocated to other battles to defend his home turf. 

Here's the irony. If Obama is successful, the state that gave the most resistance to recognizing a Black man, Martin Luther King Jr., could be the state that plays a pivital role in electing the nation's first Black president.

I would find an Arizona victory satisfying since John McCain was one of the politicians who fought the passage of the King Holiday. In fairness, he has since apologized for his actions, but who cares?  Some of the things we see in this campaign expose a mindset that looks like the same old McCain. The McCain who only came around to support the holiday after increasing public pressure, the NFL cancelling a super bowl in Arizona, and an overwhelming 338 - 90 vote in the House of Representatives. When it became apparent that he was on the wrong side of history, McCain got on the bus.

Glad he found enlightenment, but it shouldn't have been that hard. Recognizing an American who stirred the moral consciousness of a nation, earned worldwide recognition for his nonviolent movement for equality and peace, and then gave his life as his last great act of sacrifice should have been a no brainer. Not for Arizona, however. They remained the symbol of an unnecessary battle.

Many from my generation will always remember that time period through the sentiment of Public Enemy's hip hop classic, "By the Time I Get to Arizona." It was one of the defiant and revolutionary expressions of the moment. Thanks to Chuck D, even though we bobbed our heads, we never really forgot Arizona. 

That was then, however. This is 2008. The holiday is official. Chuck D is main stream. Obama is playing offense. A man of color is returning to Arizona, not as part of a movement seeking acceptance, but leading a campaign exacting respect. 

Public Enemy's classic has made the journey with me from my walkman cassette to my iPod touch. Now I'm planning to take it into the voting booth. I'm hoping the verdict on an unfortunate time in American history can be reached by the time we get to Arizona.

Rein in the Kings

The Kings are at it again. Who knew a family with so much promise could be so dysfunctional for generation after generation.

Shortly after the death of Coretta Scott King, I had the nerve to say out loud that Mrs. King’s life was one big lost opportunity. After all the horrified gasps, I asked my friends to name one thing that Mrs. King ever did for anyone for which she didn’t also benefit. I’m still waiting on an answer. In fact, I even consulted Wikipedia and couldn’t find anything worth mentioning.

I reached my conclusion about Mrs. King because I have watched as she presided over the Atlanta bougiouse year after year, yet contributed nothing to the world at large. To make matters worse, she sold Dr. King’s work to Time Warner for $5 million and aggressively sued anyone who tried to share in what has become a national treasure—the words of Dr. King.

The New York Times reported on it more than 10 years ago.

Until now, the King family has carefully guarded the release of these primary sources and recently sued CBS for selling a videotape of King's ''I Have a Dream'' speech. Last year, Intellectual Properties Management succeeded in stopping a California Republican political advertisement that featured portions of the speech. And in 1993, the estate filed suit against USA Today, which is owned by Gannett, after the newspaper published the text of the speech on its front page. The newspaper settled the lawsuit by paying the estate a $1,700 licensing fee and legal costs.

Just protecting her investment, I guess.

Now with mom dearly departed, the children are taking up the embarrassingly selfish behavior. It’s reported this week that the children are in court bickering over who owns the rights to their mother’s papers. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III are actually suing Dexter King for control of her posessions.

The three surviving King children have looked more like adversaries than siblings in recent months as they struggle to settle three lawsuits. On Tuesday, lawyers for Dexter King asked a judge to demand that Bernice King -- as administrator of her mother's estate -- turn over personal papers, including love letters between the civil rights icons.

The case is ongoing in Atlanta civil court, and the judge has appointed a special master to catalogue dozens of boxes belonging to Coretta Scott King.

Control of the documents is threatening to derail a $1.4 million book deal with New York publisher Penguin Group for a memoir about the civil rights matriarch.

It’s beyond sad to see what this family has become. They inherited an American legacy that could have afforded them the opportunity to lead any cause they chose. A spouse or child of Dr. King could have easily garnered support for any of array of issues. Yet, 40 years after his death, they are fighting in court to get their hands on their mother's $1.4 million. You could do a lot of good with that kind of money, but they won’t.

By the time Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in his 30s, he had led a 385-day boycott to give Montgomery Blacks the dignity of sitting wherever they chose on city buses. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was one of the trailblazing organizations in the civil rights movement. He led a march on Washington, D.C., where he delivered an address that occupies an unrivaled place in American history. He even earned the Nobel Peace for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolent means.

What have any of the other King's accomplished?

Eventually, one of them will win the suit, but they will all lose. A birthright squandered. An opportunity wasted. And a pathetic display that would make their father cringe. If only they had inherited some of his dignity.