[Sosfbay-discuss] Rev. Eric P. Lee of SCLC Attacked for Anti-Prop 8 Stand

[alexcathy at aol.com]

Dear Friends, 

Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter of SCLC,? a civil rights group founded by Martin Luther King, is under fire for his outspoken advocacy of marriage equality and against Proposition 8. It's an obvious power play by mega-church preachers. It'll be interesting to see if California's weak so-called "progressives" (including our chorus of Black Nationalist "radicals") has the guts to defy a bunch of conservative preachers to defend Eric Lee. 

Alex Walker 
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Published in The Los Angeles Times, Saturday, July 11, 2009



Civil Rights Group Threatens to Fire Local Leader for Gay Marriage Endorsement
 

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group partly founded by Martin Luther King Jr., has threatened to fire the president of its Los Angeles chapter because he supports same-sex marriage.

The Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the local SCLC chapter for two years, became an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage during the recent campaign against Proposition 8, an amendment to the state Constitution that banned such unions.
The SCLC national board notified Lee on May 27 that he would have to attend a hearing at its Atlanta headquarters on June 4 to explain his stance on same-sex marriage. If he did not show up, they said, they would suspend and fire him.

Lee did not attend the hearing. He told the board he could not afford the last-minute trip but could participate via conference call. He said he never heard back from the board.

When Lee failed to appear for the hearing, he received an e-mail warning him to set a date to appear or face removal.
The national group's lawyer, Dexter M. Wimbish, and other leaders did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Lee maintained a high profile in the Proposition 8 fight. He wrote articles in favor of same-sex marriage and self-published a book, "Marriage Equality: Proposition 8 The California Divide." He also appeared at public demonstrations...

READ MORE AT: 
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sclc11-2009jul11,0,1372647.story 



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