To the Editor:
I was deeply upset by the comments made by some students regarding the choice of Dorothy Allison as the MLK Jr. Day speaker ("MLK speaker choice sparks debate," Jan. 17).
Although King never wrote or spoke about his opinion of homosexuality, his actions speak for themselves. Bayard Rustin, one of the most important figures of the civil rights movement, began preaching non-violence before America even knew King's name. Although he had been an illegitimate child, was openly gay and had once been associated with the Communist Party, King drew Rustin into his fold and trusted him enough to organize his historic 1963 march on Washington. This march, which culminated in the "I Have a Dream" speech, was one of the most important landmarks of the civil rights movement, and King trusted only Rustin to organize it.
According to King's biographer Stewart Burns in his book "To the Mountaintop:" "Roy Wilkins did not want Bayard Rustin to have any part in organizing the [1963 March on Washington] because of his past associations with leftist causes and his reputed homosexuality. King insisted, 'We are not concerned with Bayard or the past associations or affiliations of any participants. We are not going to conduct a witch hunt.' They compromised by letting A. Phillip Randolph chair the march, knowing his administrative assistant, Rustin, was going to be the de facto director of the entire undertaking."
While it is true that King felt compelled to make a less controversial figure the official chair of the march, we must remember that King's movement could not afford that kind of controversy at such a crucial point (This is not a justification but rather an explanation).
But King's movement has long since been established as legitimate. To now question the choice of a lesbian speaker on a day celebrating civil rights is not only illogical and misguided but also deeply saddening and offensive. Michael Thomas '08 worried that the choice of a lesbian speaker would detract from the message of Martin Luther King Jr. What about the fact that she is a female activist, let alone a gay one? Does her status as a feminist detract from his message? Who are we to confine an individual to one aspect of his or her character?
So who would be allowed to speak? The answers of some Dartmouth students sound an awful lot like the type of discrimination that Dr. King was fighting against. Ozzie Harris, special assistant to President Wright for institutional diversity, noted that the controversy has left many groups wondering, "Do I count?" The individual who thinks that he or she can decide the answer to that question has missed the message entirely.
