King’s daughter declines helm of SCLC
Fifteen months after being tapped to head the civil rights group
founded by her famous father, Bernice King has declined the post, citing
a leadership clash and an inability to "move forward."
King's
decision leaves the venerable Southern Christian Leadership Conference
again facing an uncertain future, a half century after it was founded to
mobilize black churches in Martin Luther King's fight against
discrimination.
"After numerous attempts to connect with the
official board leaders on how to move forward under my leadership,
unfortunately our visions did not align," King said in statement on
January 21. Instead, she said, she plans to work with immigration
activist Samuel Rodriguez, whose National Hispanic Christian Leadership
Conference is modeled on the SCLC, and work to develop the legacy of
her mother, Coretta Scott King.
