Alveda Celeste King (born January 22, 1951) is an American activist, author, and former state representative for the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives.
She is a niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and his wife Naomi Barber King. She is a Fox News Channel contributor. She once served as a Senior Fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a conservative Washington, D.C. think tank. She is a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and the founder of Alveda King Ministries.
Video Alveda King
Childhood and family
Alveda King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the first of five children of A. D. King, the younger brother of Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife Naomi (Barber) King. King says her mother wanted to abort her so she could continue college, but her grandfather was able to convince her to keep her child. When she was 12, her father became a leader of the Birmingham campaign while serving as pastor at the First Baptist Church of Ensley in Birmingham, Alabama. Later that same year, King's house was bombed by opponents to the civil rights movement.
In 1969, her father, A.D. King, was found dead in the pool at his home. The cause of death was listed as an accidental drowning.
Martin Luther King, Sr. wrote in his autobiography, "Alveda had been up the night before, she said, talking with her father and watching a television movie with him. He'd seemed unusually quiet...and not very interested in the film. But he had wanted to stay up and Alveda left him sitting in an easy chair, staring at the TV, when she went off to bed... I had questions about A.D.'s death and I still have them now. He was a good swimmer. Why did he drown? I don't know - I don't know that we will ever know what happened."
Maps Alveda King
Education
King studied journalism and sociology as an undergraduate, and she received a Master of Arts degree in business management from Central Michigan University. She received an honorary doctorate from Saint Anselm College.
Public office
From 1979 until 1983, King represented the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. The district included Fulton County, and King served as a Democrat.
In 1984, King ran for the seat of Georgia's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. King challenged incumbent Representative Wyche Fowler. Fowler's predecessor Andrew Young, endorsed Hosea Williams, who also challenged Fowler in the primary; Williams was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most trusted lieutenants and perhaps best known for organizing and leading the first Selma March.
Coretta Scott King did not endorse her niece. Young, who had given up the seat to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and Williams approached King and asked her to end her campaign for the seat so that she could dedicate more time to her family. Young later apologized for what he called "some blatantly chauvinistic remarks." She did not withdraw. With the black vote split, Fowler defeated both King and Williams in the primary. That was the last time she ran for elective office. However, since then, she has publicly stated that she is a Republican.
King is a member of the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission, having been nominated to the position by President Donald Trump in 2018.
Presidential politics
In 1984, King supported the Reverend Jesse Jackson for president.
In 2012, King was a supporter of Herman Cain for President and defended him from sexual harassment claims, saying, "A woman knows a skirt-chaser" and "Herman Cain is no skirt-chaser." She co-founded Women for Cain.
King voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, stating, "I pray that all polar opposites learn to Agape Love, live and work together as brothers and sisters -- or perish as fools. While I voted for Mr. Trump, my confidence remains in God, for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Prayers for President-elect Trump, Congressman Lewis, and everyone including leaders."
Views and activism
Anti-abortion activism
King is an anti-abortion activist. She had two abortions before adopting anti-abortion views following the birth of one of her children and her becoming a born-again Christian in 1983. King frames the issue as one of racial discrimination; she has referred to abortion as "womb-lynching" and accused Planned Parenthood of profiting from "aborting black babies." King is director of the activist group Civil Rights for the Unborn and is director of Priests for Life's African-American outreach. In 1996, she denounced her aunt Coretta Scott King for her support for abortion rights. Angela D. Dillard classifies King as among most prominent black figures in the American religious right.
King has said, "Mrs. Coretta Scott King knew that her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was pro-life" despite his winning the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood in 1966. In 1994, according to Fox News, Alveda King has "long argued" that Dr. King was a Republican; she later wrote that she regretted the statement, writing "I said that without having all the facts" and noting that King in fact was not aligned with any political party.
After civil rights leader Rosa Parks died in 2005, Alveda King called Parks an inspiration for the anti-abortion cause, likening the injustice of racial segregation to abortion. (Parks had served on the Board of Advocates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America).
2010 "Restoring Honor" rally
King spoke at Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial in August 2010. ABC News reported that in King's speech, she hoped that "white privilege will become human privilege and that America will soon repent of the sin of racism and return itself to honor."
Opposition to same-sex marriage
King has spoken out against same-sex marriage. In 2010 she equated same-sex marriage to genocide at a rally in Atlanta, saying, "We don't want genocide. We don't want to destroy the sacred institution of marriage." In a 2015 essay, she wrote that "Life is a human and civil right, so is procreative marriage... We must now go back to the beginning, starting with Genesis, and teach about God's plan for marriage."
Personal life
King has been married and divorced three times. Her first marriage was to Eddie Clifford Beal , her second to Jerry Ellis, and her third to Israel Tookes. She has six living children.
Works
King has written the following books:
- For generations to come: Poetry by Alveda King Beal (as Alveda King Beal) (1986)
- The Arab Heart (as Alveda King Beal) (1986)
- I Don't Want Your Man, I Want My Own (2001)
- Sons of Thunder: The King Family Legacy (2003)
- Who We Are In Christ Jesus (2008)
- How Can the Dream Survive If We Murder the Children?: Abortion is Not a Civil Right! (2008)
- King Rules: Ten Truths for You, Your Family, and Our Nation to Prosper (2014)
- King Truths: 21 Keys To Unlocking Your Spiritual Potential (2018)
King has produced the following musical works:
She released the CD, Let Freedom Ring in 2005, and she has appeared in film and television as both Alveda King and Alveda King Beal. The Human Experience, a 2010 documentary film, featured commentary from King.
She co-produced the video "Latter Rain" (2005) and co-executive produced Pray for America (2015).
See also
- Christine King Farris
- List of African-American Republicans
References
External links
- Alveda King Ministries
- African-American Outreach, Priests of Life
- Alveda King on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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