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Civil Rights Leader Under Scrutiny for Supporting Gay Marriage by Gizem Unsalan July 13, 2009 |
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photo by sclclosangeles.org
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Civil rights leader Reverend Eric P. Lee is facing difficulties because of his stance on same-sex marriage, according to an article that appeared in the New York Times.
Lee, who is president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a 50-year-old civil rights organization based in Atlanta and founded in part by the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., publicly supports same-sex marriage. Prior to the passage of Proposition 8 last November, Lee rallied with those opposing the amendment at City Hall and even marched with them at Fresno.
While the Mormon Church was largely behind Proposition 8, the New York Times article states that African-American churches also played a significant role in passing the amendment banning gay marriage in California— with 70 percent of black voters backing Proposition 8 according to an exit poll. As a result of his opposition to Proposition 8, Lee said he experienced tension in his life that he had “never experienced with black clergy.”
“But it was clear to me,” Lee told the New York Times, “that any time you deny one group of people the same right that other groups have, that is a clear violation of civil rights and I have to speak up on that.”
Lee said the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s interim president Byron Clay told him that the organization had a publicly neutral position on same-sex marriage. In April, however, Lee received a call and subsequent letters from the National Board of Directors, threatening him with suspension or removal as president if he did not explain why he took a public stance on gay marriage.
Although neither the Southern Christian Leadership Conference nor the National Board of Directors lawyer who sent Lee the letters could be reached for comment, Lee told the New York Times he saw failures in the leadership of the organization, saying, “Dr. King would be turning over in his grave right now.” Lee also criticized the mostly-white anti-Proposition 8 movement for not seeking the support of African-Americans. “The black church played a significant role in Proposition 8 passing,” Lee said. “The failure of the campaign was to presume that African-Americans would see this as a civil rights issue.”
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