http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=8&u=/nm/20040116/pl_nm/bush_dc Bush Booed at Martin Luther King Gravesite
Fri Jan 16,12:00 AM ET
By Randall Mikkelsen
ATLANTA (Reuters) - In a sign of the difficulty President Bush (news - web sites) faces as he tries to win black support for his reelection, several hundred protesters loudly booed him on Thursday as he laid a wreath at the grave of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
"Bush go home" and "peace not war" the predominantly black crowd of protesters shouted from behind a barrier of buses, as Bush paid tribute to King on the 75th anniversary of his birth.
Bush wants to improve his standing among black voters this reelection year, after winning less than 10 percent of the African-American vote in 2000.
The president was accompanied by King's widow Coretta Scott King, and sister, Christine King Farris. He placed the wreath, bowed his head for a few moments, and departed without speaking or facing the protesters as the boos from the crowd increased.
The protesters carried signs with slogans like "Money for jobs and housing, not war" and "It's not a photo-op George."
A White House spokesman defended Bush's visit to the grave of the assassinated civil rights icon.
"This is about paying tribute to someone who had a tremendously positive influence in shaping the world that we live in today ... it's a solemn moment, a nice way to honor Dr. King," spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
Bush was in Atlanta as part of a two-state swing during which he also raised $2.3 million in campaign funds, trumpeted a reelection endorsement from Georgia Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, and promoted government aid for religious charities.
King's birthday is commemorated by a national holiday on Monday, recognizing his non-violent leadership of the black civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Today, all Americans benefit from Dr. King's work and his legacy of courage, dignity, and moral clarity," Bush said in a written statement proclaiming the annual holiday.
Bush faces a stiff challenge in wooing black voters.
"Bush's policies contradict everything Dr. King stood for," said Ann Mauney, a member of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition.
U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Maryland Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (news - web sites), criticized the grave visit as "yet another symbolic gesture that lacks any real substance."
"Every policy decision of the Bush Administration including the war in Iraq (news - web sites), healthcare, jobs, the economy, judicial nominations, housing, the environment, as well as secondary and higher education, has done nothing to strengthen Dr. King's dream," Cummings said.
Earlier on Thursday, Bush hailed King's legacy during a visit to the predominantly black Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in New Orleans. "I'm really not worthy to stand here, when I think about the fact that ... this is the very place where Martin Luther King stood, as well, some 42 years ago."
He also promoted his program of government aid for religious charities, which is popular among some black clergy. He announced new rules that help "faith-based" charities compete for $3.7 billion in Justice Department (news - web sites) funding.
Bush raised $1 million at a New Orleans campaign fundraiser, and $1.3 million in Atlanta.
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http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/7719302.htm Posted on Thu, Jan. 15, 2004
Protesters push past barricades at King's tomb; two arrested
LOUISE CHU
Associated Press
ATLANTA - Hundreds of people pushed past barricades set up by the Secret Service to protest President Bush's visit to the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, which would have been the slain civil rights leader's 75th birthday.
Two people were arrested as a police-estimated 700 protesters pushed toward the street in front of King's tomb, abandoning a designated area several hundreds yards away.
Authorities responded by parking three city buses on the street to block the protesters from the president's motorcade. Some protesters pounded on the side of the buses.
No one was injured and the crowd remained peaceful, dispersing soon after the president's 15-minute visit. Bush placed a wreath on King's grave before heading to a $2,000-a-head fund-raiser in downtown Atlanta.
His brief visit observing King's birthday upset some civil rights leaders, who said his politics and poor scheduling conflict with their plans to honor King. Critics say Bush's policies on the Iraq war, affirmative action and social service funding conflict with the King legacy.
"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," said Kathy Nicholas, a flight attendant from Atlanta who said she had planned to visit the tomb before she learned of the president's visit.
When Bush arrived and departed, the crowd booed and chanted "Bush go home!"
Some of the protesters held signs that displayed King's image and said "War is not the answer." Others beat drums and chanted "In 2004, Bush no more."
"If Dr. King was here today, he'd be protesting too," said Petite Hammonds, a protester from Atlanta.
Two of the protesters were arrested for stepping into the street and refusing to move, police said.
The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change said it extended no formal invitation to Bush but accepted his offer to come.
The president bowed his head in respect at the tomb, joined by King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and other family members. The president appeared unfazed by the protest.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the president wanted to pay tribute to "Dr. King's legacy, his vision and his lifetime of service.
"This is a way to honor a lifetime dedicated to fighting for equal opportunity and equal justice for all people," he said.
Local leaders also criticized the short notice of the visit, which conflicted with other King holiday events.
The MLK March Committee, a group of area civil rights activists who knew King, has worked for months on a human rights forum at Ebenezer Baptist Church, across the street, which was planned to run all day.
Organizers said they initially were told to conclude their event early for security reasons, but the Secret Service later agreed to allow the event to proceed as scheduled.
Coretta Scott King declined to comment on Bush's visit, but King has been vocal about her opposition to the war in Iraq, promoting her late husband's principles of nonviolence.
Some local critics claimed Bush was using the stop as a way to get taxpayers to pay for his trip to the fund-raiser for his re-election campaign.
Larry Noble, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, said it doesn't work that way. Noble said a president's campaign generally must foot the bill for out-of-town transportation if there is a fund-raiser involved, even if the trip includes official business.
In practice, the campaign wouldn't actually reimburse the entire cost of operating Air Force One, Noble said. Rather, it would pay the equivalent of a first class plane ticket for everyone on board, except for those aides who are attending for the official business but not the fund-raiser.
