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NEWS THURSDAY • November 7, 2002
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Activists take offense at Perdue's use of King quotation
Mia Taylor - Staff
Thursday, November 7, 2002
Civil rights advocates voiced outrage Wednesday over Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue's use of a famous quote by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during his victory speech the night before, but Perdue said he intended no offense.
Perdue scored a historic victory Tuesday when he defeated Gov. Roy Barnes, ending 130 years of Democratic governors in Georgia. During a victory party at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Buckhead, Perdue, describing his joy, said, "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last."
Civil rights leaders felt the comment was inappropriate.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights leader who worked closely with King, noted that when King uttered the famous closing line to his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, he was talking about blacks gaining freedom from oppression.
"I didn't give a rat what he said, until he stole our line, with a Confederate flag waving behind him," Lowery said. "It was inappropriate, but I would like to hear his motive for using it. I think he owes us an explanation."
Perdue, who was a Democrat until he switched parties in 1998, said Wednesday he was "sorry the reverend feels that way."
"I admire much of Martin Luther King's writings," said Perdue. "As I read them, they do connote a deeper wisdom that is remarkable."
Lowery wasn't the only one who took offense.
"It's very upsetting," said longtime King advocate Lynn Cothren, "particularly to use a quote that dealt with freeing a group of individuals that had been oppressed by society for hundreds of years. To minimize it and politicize it . . . was not only inappropriate but thoughtless.
"Obviously, you can't compare the Democrats' and Republicans' fight over the Governor's Mansion . . . with Dr. King talking about America living up to everything it should be about, which is addressing issues of poverty, racism and war."
King's widow, Coretta Scott King, could not be reached for comment.
Perdue said that while obviously the remark was a little politicized, Republicans could empathize with "the stakes" of King's comment.
Staff writers Ernie Suggs and Mae Gentry contributed to this article.
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