In the News
Greenville pastor to speak at King's church
By E. Richard Walton- STAFF WRITER
(Source: G’ville News)
Greenville's Rev. Curtis L. Johnson says Coretta Scott King has asked him to speak at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta today during an annual tribute to her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. King was a pastor at the church.
"I received the call when I was Christmas shopping," Johnson said. "I'm still in amazement."
Johnson said he is scheduled to speak for three minutes near the end of the program.
The ceremony is frequently seen on national television. Ebenezer, a cradle of the civil rights movement, is in downtown Atlanta.
"Ms. Coretta Scott King invited me herself," he said. He said he was honored by the invitation.
Johnson said Martin L. King III will be the event's featured speaker. Martin King is expected to take over leadership of the King Center from his brother, Dexter.
Johnson is pastor of Valley Brook Outreach Baptist Church in Pelzer.
Wendell Jones, assistant pastor, said the 1,300-member congregation is thrilled Johnson was tapped.
"It's definitely an honor," Jones said. He complimented Johnson's oratorical skills. Johnson said he met "Mother King" during an event in Atlanta three years ago.
But he said he is probably more familiar with the Rev. Bernice A. King, the slain black leader's youngest child. Bernice King, he said, spoke at his church twice in 2002, in July and December.
"I've been in a pretty good relationship with Bernice," he said.
She also made the keynote address to about 800 at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration at Lander University a year ago.
He said he and Bernice King have tried to come up with a strategy to nudge the Greenville County Council into declaring an official King holiday similar to the one observed nationally. The strategy has yet to be deployed, he said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, once a top King aide, led a series of demonstrations in Greenville last year in an attempt to press the council to establish the holiday but to no avail so far.
At the King Center in Atlanta on Thursday, President Bush was met with hoots and demonstrators while placing a wreath at King's grave.
Johnson said today's service is by invitation only, but he plans to take his wife, Charla, and son Isaiah.