I was wondering if any listserv subscribers are doing anything in their programs about Martin Luther King day with their adult learners. We would love to hear about it!

In my hometown, Atlanta, quite a few gay organizations are making plans for the holiday honoring MLK. I have copied some excerpts from the following article:

‘Justice is indivisible' 
Atlanta’s gay organizations plan for holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
 By ERIC ERVIN 
Friday, January 05, 2007
 http://www.sovo.com/2007/1-5/news/national/national.cfm 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many of the people who gathered around his fight for civil rights believed everyone should be treated equally, including gay men and lesbians.

King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, included gay people in their inner circles and championed gay rights. Bayard Rustin, the gay man who organized the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, was a close confidant to King, and gay Atlantan Lynn Cothren was Mrs. King’s personal assistant for more than two decades.

On Jan. 12-15, local events are planned by gay groups to commemorate Dr. King’s life and coincide with the Jan. 15 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday.

King’s wife, who died last January, and Rustin will also be honored.

“We get to not only celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the life of Bayard Rustin, who was unapologetic for being gay,” says Zandra Conway, board member of In the Life Atlanta, organizers of the country’s largest Black Gay Pride festival in Atlanta and of the annual Bayard Rustin Breakfast, which takes place Jan. 15.

“There will also be [recognition] for Coretta Scott King, who also worked for equal rights for gay people before she died,” Conway adds.

Conway says Martin Luther King’s message was one of equal rights and human rights for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, a sentiment that Mrs. King asserted many times on behalf of her husband after his death. 

“[King] said if one part of society is being discriminated against, everyone suffers,” Conway notes.

After her husband died, Mrs. King continued to support HIV/AIDS fundraisers and awareness campaigns, as well as marriage for gay couples.

“Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil unions,” Mrs. King said during a 2005 speech in New Jersey.