Power Struggle In Civil Rights Group Continues

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The daughter of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Bernice King, announced today that she will not become president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Her father co-founded the SCLC half a century ago to end segregation and to campaign for the voting rights of African-Americans.

Bernice King was elected president in 2009, but she never took office because of infighting among board members and a contentious legal battle.

NPR's Kathy Lohr has the story.

KATHY LOHR: In a statement, Bernice King said after numerous attempts to connect with the official board leaders on how to move forward, unfortunately their visions did not align. So she said after praying and seeking counsel, she decided not to assume the presidency of the SCLC.

King said the organization refused to respect her leadership by delaying a response to her recommendations about the position and ignoring her questions about the job description.

Ms. BERNICE KING: I believe that I could only be effective if it were an executive-driven organization, and I did not have a desire to be merely a figurehead leader.

Professor ANDRA GILLESPIE (Political Science Professor, Emory University): It's not a surprise that she would come to that decision.

KATHY LOHR: That's Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University. The announcement comes after 15 months of bitter infighting and a lawsuit that tried to resolve who the real board leaders were.

One faction supported King, the other, backed by the group's former chairman, Reverend Raleigh Trammell, opposed her. Trammell was indicted just last week on charges including grand theft of more than half a million dollars from a low-income meal program.

Professor Gillespie says the ongoing dissension made it impossible for Bernice King to succeed.

Prof. GILLESPIE: There is this much division within the organization now, and she doesn't think that she really has the votes or the mandate to be able to carry out her own vision within the organization. Then it probably makes sense in her estimation to just cut her losses and let the organization handle its division right now.

KATHY LOHR: King said she would focus on furthering the legacy of her mother, Coretta Scott King, and her Women's Leadership Academy.

Clayborne Carson is a history professor at Stanford University and head of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute. He says Bernice King leaves the SCLC with her reputation intact.

Dr. CLAYBORNE CARSON (History, Stanford University): No one person can turn around an organization that has so many problems. You know, a number of people have tried, and all of them have come up against a lot of severe problems.

KATHY LOHR: But Carson says the decision doesn't bode well for the future of the SCLC, an organization trying to figure out how to survive.

Dr. CARSON: There really is a lack of clear understanding about what the organization should be doing and how it should confront the problems of the 21st century.

KATHY LOHR: Some experts suggest the SCLC has been on journey to redefine itself for 40 years, but has yet to create a clear mission and find a way to help people as it did during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. Again, Andra Gillespie at Emory.

Prof. GILLESPIE: Sometimes, it makes sense to kind of know when to fold. And this may be the moment at which the SCLC ceases to exist.

KATHY LOHR: Bernice King did not say that as she walked away today. But she did say the group's members and leaders will have to figure it out.

Ms. KING: I would hope that they are able to rebound and keep moving. I, you know, I think they certainly have the capacity to do that.

KATHY LOHR: Still, there are increasing doubts about how any leader could turn things around.

Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

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