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Jan 16, 2004 -
President Bushyesterday visited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s grave while hundreds demonstrated nearby. According to the AP, protesters defied Secret Service efforts to keep them well away from the tomb and moved toward the sidewalk directly across the street from where Bush laid a wreath on Dr. King’s burial site before heading to a $2,000 a plate fundraiser.
Although White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said Bush’s visit was meant "to honor a lifetime dedicated to fighting for equal opportunity and equal justice for all people," civil rights leaders and peace activists asserted that many of Bush’s policies are harmful to African Americans and are not in the spirit of King’s legacy.
"We find it appalling that this time last year, the same pres was in the White House announcing his opposition to Affirmative Action," said Rev. Tim MacDonald from Concerned Black Clergy, a religious organization that works on behalf of the poor. "We find it appalling that this president went to war unilaterally, which we know Dr. King would be adamantly in opposition to," MacDonald continued.
According to the AP, Bush was not invited to participate in the weeklong series of events surrounding what would have been the civil rights leader’s 76th birthday. A spokesperson for the King Center told the AP that they accepted Bush’s offer to visit King’s tomb "out of respect for that office and out of respect for Dr. King."
The MLK March Committee criticized Bush’s visit for disrupting their own plans to honor King. The Committee, a group of area civil rights activists who knew the fallen civil rights leader, had organized a human rights forum at the Ebenezer Baptist Church near the King memorial. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Secret Service initially insisted the event be concluded by 2:00 pm, instead of at the scheduled end time of 4:00 pm, in order to accommodate "security" for Bush’s visit. However, events organizers refused to conclude early, and a compromise was finally reached in which no one would be allowed to enter the church after 2:00 pm.
The AP quoted protestors claiming Bush’s visit was a publicity stunt. "When I heard Bush was coming here I couldn't believe it. I was outraged and disgusted, and I just think it's a photo op. It's so transparent," commented Kathy Nicholas, a flight attendant from Atlanta.
