King's legacy debated before Beck march

[Jeffersons Ghost]

King's legacy debated before Beck march

By Krissah Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 27, 2010; 11:58 PM

In the collective memory of many Americans, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life is frozen in time in a single moment 47 years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

People of all political ideologies say they draw inspiration from the "dream" he described that day - that children might be judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

The rally that conservative commentator Glenn Beck is holding on those same steps Saturday, the anniversary of the speech, has reignited long-simmering debates over what King stood for and who the rightful heirs to his legacy are.

Beck, who says King's message has been distorted, has described the rally, in part, as an opportunity to "pick up Martin Luther King's dream" and to "restore it and to finish it." Beck's critics accuse him of hijacking the "dream" for partisan political gain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/27/AR2010082704890.html?hpid=topnews