Yolanda King vs. Jerry Falwell

[lynnertic]

Hooray! My husband gave me an excuse to start my very own Jerry Falwell post by highlighting the contrast between his motivation and Yolanda King's, at his most excellent blog Dead, Not Forgotten ( http://www.deadnotforgotten.com/blog )

Yolanda King - Actress, author, producer
May 16th, 2007

Yolanda King, the eldest daughter of Martin Luther King, died May 15, 2007 after delivering a speech to the American Heart Association in Santa Monica, CA. She was 51 years old. No official cause of death has been announced at the time of this writing. Family members think that her death may be related to heart disease.

Yolanda King followed in her father’s footsteps and worked to support the goals of racial equality, social harmony and nonviolence through her motivational speaking and her film and television work. Among her roles, she played civil rights hero Rosa Parks in the 1978 NBC-TV miniseries King. She also played Dr. Betty Shabazz in the Death of a Prophet with Morgan Freeman, and Medgar Ever’s daughter, Reena, in Ghosts of Mississippi directed by Rob Reiner.

Her production company, Higher Ground Productions, states as its mission to “To Educate, Empower and Entertain; inspiring individuals to passionately create peace in their own lives thereby encouraging the same within their families, communities and across the globe.” The company supports Yolanda King’s efforts in areas from teleseminar training courses and speaking engagements to theatrical productions. The theatrical premiere of Dancing on Higher Ground, to star Yolanda King, was scheduled for September, 2007. The play was written by Tanya White.

Yolanda King’s passing will not get the attention it deserves because of its timing; Jerry Falwell died on the same day. When I think about Yolanda King and the legacy of peace, inclusion, social harmony and nonviolence that she cared for, I am struck by the sharp contrast to Rev. Jerry Falwell’s legacy of hate, exclusion, calls for assassination and his persistent social rabble-rousing against segments of our society. They both represent philosophies based on religious beliefs, but, they represent polar concepts of humanity. I will miss Yolanda King.

For more information:
Yolanda King’s Higher Ground Productions website
Read Yolanda King’s filmoghraphy
Read an article about Yolanda King’s personal spiritual path
Listen to an NPR interview with Yolanda King

[lynnertic]

1. PS it's also interesting that they both apparently died of heart disease