Alveda King, MLK's Niece, is Not as Crazy as You Think

Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is not making many friends this week. Her decision to join forces with Fox News host Glenn Beck during his bogus March on Washington is likely one of the most shocking and extraordinary political events in recent months. Alveda is being called a traitor for her actions and probably has old uncle Martin turning over in his grave.

But here's the dirty little secret that most of us are not willing to accept: Alveda King actually represents millions of church-going African Americans. Also, her views are not nearly as outlandish as some would lead you to believe.

Alveda King is opposed to gay marriage, just like my mother. She doesn't believe in abortion, just like many members of my own family. She believes strongly in old school family values, similar to Bill Cosby. She is clearly a product of the traditional black church and represents a section of black America that liberals don't like to talk about. Many African Americans, whether we want to admit it or not, would agree with Alveda King on nearly every single issue.

The political schizophrenia of black America is largely rooted in the fact that we are among the most conservative members of the Democratic Party. To some extent, you might say that we are enslaved by Democrats, who simply hate us less than the Republicans. Poor black people to Republicans are like roaches destined for extermination. There's no place for us in the party, and Glenn Beck knows it.

One area where Alveda simply has it wrong is that Dr. King is claimed by the black church, but he was not always of the black church. He was rejected for standing up for the poor and speaking out agressively on social issues. He ended his life taking strong positions on worker rights and fighting against the war in Vietnam. He might have been in agreement with Alveda on topics like abortion and family values, but he wouldn't be standing with Glenn Beck, the war-mongering, anti-poor Republican who gets support from every Klansman and Neo-Nazi in America.

By aligning herself with the likes of Glenn Beck, Alveda King has undermined both her reputation in the black community and distorted the legacy of her uncle, Dr. King. It's one thing if you have something in common with Beck, but another thing to endorse him. Alveda would have been better to stand alone on her platform and engage in a more responsible way of sharing her values. At this point, she is falling for the same political double-speak that led to many blacks supporting George Bush in 2004.

It must also be stated, however, that Alveda can't be written off simply as a crackpot. I have many church-going members of my own family who would scream "amen" to nearly everything that Alveda has to say. She's every bit as black as any of us, and the perception of the legitimacy of her value system comes down to which of the issues matters most to the political observer. If you care about poor people, mass incarceration and terrible educational systems, then you can't possibly align yourself with Glenn Beck. But if gay marriage and abortion matter more, then you become Alveda King.

Alveda certainly has it wrong, but so do we all. By shoving liberal values down our collective throat as the price of admission, the Democrats are as much an awkward fit as the Republicans. Alveda represents the essence of that confusion, which is why it was only a matter of time before this was set to happen.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.