Are poor black boys easy targets for sexual predators?

(Fotolia)





By Edward Wyckoff Williams

History does not always repeat itself, but it echoes quite loudly.
The latest scandal rocking Pennsylvania State University's football team, in which disturbing details surfaced that former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly raped and molested at least eight young boys between the ages of 10 and 15, echoes the dark truth at the heart of evil intent in all cases of child sexual abuse. As things presently stand, Jerry Sandusky has been arraigned and released on bail. University President Graham Spanier and Coach Joe Paterno have been fired, effective immediately.
Paterno may not get his final winning season, but he will certainly receive accolades and rewards for an exemplary career. Yet what remains is that too many others have already lost here. Nameless, faceless and voiceless boys were invited to play a sick, dangerous and twisted game, while good men watched in silence, and did nothing.

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When the allegations of sexual misconduct against Georgia minister Bishop Eddie Long hit headlines last year, there were shock waves throughout the African-American community. Most disturbing was the fact that Long had spent years grooming young men from their early teens until the legally safe ages of 16 and 17 (under Georgia law at least) before allegedly initiating sexual activity.
Many ran to Long's defense, with baseless claims that the young men were fortune hunters: willing to destroy the reputation of a successful and respected community leader for financial gain. However, as more accusers came forward with eerily similar stories, Long quickly delivered a large settlement agreement, which silenced the young men.

Like Bishop Long with his Youth Academy, Sandusky allegedly used his own children's charity program, The Second Mile, which focused on assisting poor, underprivileged kids, many of whom came from single-parent homes and were struggling in school -- to find his prey. Using his money, fame and the lure of access to prized football facilities and games that any young boy could only dream of, Sandusky likely perverted the mission of the charity by making it a breeding ground for his targets.

The motto of the program, originally founded by Sandusky in 1977, is "Providing Children with Help and Hope"; but the gruesome details of the grand jury report released this week reveal something so damning it rivals the actions of notorious Catholic priests engaged in the highest betrayal. As Stuart Scott, anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter, opined last night, "Short of murder, these allegations are as serious as it gets."
In public, Jerry Sandusky was the coordinator of Penn State's successful defense for 23 years, known for making the Nittany Lions famous as "Linebacker U". He mentored Pro Bowl player LaVar Arrington, and produced 10 All-Americans during his tenure. He was a father-figure to young giants on-the-field and to underprivileged boys off-the-field.

In private, Sandusky is said to have raped boys in his care from as early as 1994 to 2009, the most damning of which occurred in 2002 in the showers of Penn State's Football facilities, witnessed by a Penn graduate assistant and -- though reported to Joe Paterno and other administrators -- hardly anything was done.
The grand jury report details Sandusky's contact with boys ranged from touching, and tickling to oral and anal sex. The stark details are difficult to stomach as an adult, let alone experience from the perspective of a pre-pubescent or adolescent boy.

Over the past few years similar incidents of sexual impropriety in the realm of sports have surfaced, with one common trend: the victims are exclusively young black boys from underprivileged backgrounds.

The cases of Ernest Lorch, the founder of the famed Riverside Church basketball program in Westchester County and Bob Oliva, the head of Christ King Regional High School's basketball program in Queens, NY are the most poignant examples.

Oliva was a prolific basketball power for 27 years, winning five city championships. Dozens of his players graduated to Division I programs, and several, including Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers and former Nets center Jayson Williams, went onto the NBA. In 2009, Oliva was forced to retire in shame after accusations of child molestation and an investigation which led to him pleading guilty of all charges, and he currently remains on probation and is listed as a sexual predator.

Lorch, the multimillionaire investment attorney and patriarch of Christ King Regional, the New York hoops magnate, resigned his position in 2002 after the New York Daily News reported investigations had begun into sexual abuse charges. The first to come forward was a former player Sean McCray, who Lorch subsequently paid large sums to keep silent.

The abuse originally began when McCray was only 12 years old, and the revelations led to other young men offering similar accounts. Under Lorch's leadership and financial guidance, the Riverside Church basketball program once boasted basketball players including NBA all-stars Ron Artest, Chris Mullen and Mark Jackson.

The grand jury indictment of Sandusky is written in such a way as to fully protect the victims' identity, and as such the racial make-up of the children remains unknown. But one defining trait is consistent among the alleged victims of Eddie Long, Sandusky, Oliva and Lorch: they were all poor and/or inner-city, underprivileged youth. This bears out a universal truth, that those with the least defense mechanisms are the most vulnerable.

Young black boys are often disproportionately without resources, left to cling to a hope and a dream, and this often involves athletic aspirations as their way out. In a society that offers them few pathways to success, they can be easily led to trust predators against their better instincts. And with an African-American culture that prizes a hyper-masculine ideal, it is nearly impossible for them to admit when and if they have been victimized by another man.

Much of the media coverage on the events at Penn State has centered on Coach Joe Paterno, his 61-year long career, and the fact that with 409 wins, he recently surpassed Grambling State's Eddie Johnson to become the most-winning coach in college football history. But is this what really matters? Is there so little concern for the actual victims? And if we as a society allow ourselves to be so sorely misguided, are we not accomplices to the neglect inherent in the victimization of these children?

As I described in a prior piece for theGrio on the Eddie Long scandal, my personal experience as a child mirrors the experiences of these young boys who were targeted by a sexual predator, the classic tactic of whom is to slowly and gradually cross boundaries: a touch here, a rub there, until the child is being fully violated, with no idea how any of it began and with no power to stop it.

In Joe Paterno's statement of resignation he said "I wish I had done more." His words invoke the oft quoted phrase, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Open your eyes dear mothers, fathers and friends: for always and everywhere there is darkness and trickery in the world. While the Board of Trustees of Pennsylvania State University decides on an effective damage control strategy and how to save a lucrative Football franchise, the question we should be asking is what has come of those boys who are now men? What demons are they left to wrestle with? Who will pay and what is the price?

Edward Wyckoff Williams is an author, columnist, political and economic analyst, and a former investment banker. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Magic Johnson still beating HIV 20 years later

By GREG BEACHAM 
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If Magic Johnson had known just how well he could live with HIV, he wouldn't have retired from the Lakers on Nov. 7, 1991.

Johnson would never change what he did for the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic when he publicly revealed his diagnosis to a stunned world. His courage that day, along with two subsequent decades of vibrant living, forever altered attitudes about the virus and its effects.

Magic is simply glad the world knows such happy endings are possible with access to treatment and vigilance.

"At that time, it was the right decision," Johnson said Monday on the 20th anniversary of his stunning retirement. "If I knew what I knew today, that I could still play basketball and do my thing, I probably wouldn't have retired. But I'm a guy that doesn't have regrets. I don't look back. I'm happy, because I wanted to be here a long time. We made the right call at that time."

Johnson recognized the occasion at Staples Center on Monday with an upbeat celebration and a message of steadfastness. Dozens of politicians, celebrities and Lakers greats from Jerry West and Pat Riley to James Worthy and Michael Cooper joined Johnson and AIDS researcher David Ho for a luncheon, and the Magic Johnson Foundation announced a $1 million gift to continue its mission for worldwide HIV awareness and testing.

Two decades after his shocking admission and quick retirement at 32, Johnson's doctors say he's a 52-year-old specimen of health, comfortably managing HIV with a daily regimen of drugs and exercise.

While he once took upwards of 15 pills several times a day, he now requires just a few daily medications. He rises around 5 a.m. each day for a vigorous workout - everything from stretching and running to Tae Bo - before spending his days overseeing his large business empire.

Yet Johnson worries his strong health could encourage complacency, and he sees the anniversary of his historic announcement as a call to renew dedication to the cause.

"I often say I'm good for the virus, and bad for it," Johnson said. "Good because I'm doing well, and that I can go out and try and raise the awareness level, get people to go get tested ... but on the flip side of that, people see that I'm doing well, so they've kind of relaxed on HIV and AIDS. People think that now if they get the virus, they'll do well, but a couple million will die this year."

While Johnson mostly remembers a feeling of confidence derived from the unflinching support of his wife, Cookie, on the day of his announcement, his fellow Lakers have no trouble recalling the shock and confusion they felt 20 years ago.

"It stunned me, and I think I was only semi-conscious," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said. "The whole day is just like a blur in my mind. I remember Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) had to assist me. I don't think I had enough blood in the brain."

Worthy remembers the Lakers being sent from practice at Loyola Marymount to the Forum, with no idea why. The power forward wondered whether West was retiring from his executive job, or perhaps Johnson was seriously injured after missing the previous week of practice.

"When he announced, it was a reality check, because at that time, it could have been anybody," Worthy said. "A lot of people started to wonder about themselves, especially people who had never been tested before. ... He's taught us all a valuable lesson. Back in the early `90s, you thought it was a death (sentence). You thought it was over. To see him put meaning on a disease that only had one meaning, that was great."

Ho, a pioneering researcher who grew up in Los Angeles idolizing West and Elgin Baylor, said he met Johnson "on one of his darkest days" after his diagnosis. Ho has always been impressed by Johnson's upbeat willingness to acknowledge his condition, using himself to raise funds for research and treatment.

Ho also shot down the long-held suspicion that Johnson easily managed the virus because his wealth and celebrity gave him access to preferential treatment. Johnson's condition is "quite typical" at this point in the virus' treatment, he said.

"All of us working in the field are grateful to him and his foundation for doing so, because this is a plague that continues to rage," Ho said. "Because of therapeutic success, there is too much complacency in this country about this pandemic. We still need to develop new and better drugs. We have drugs that control HIV, but we don't have a cure, so research must continue."

Johnson famously couldn't stay away from basketball after his retirement, spreading the truth about HIV transmission to players and fans who sometimes balked at his participation. He was the MVP of the 1992 All-Star game and won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics before briefly coaching the Lakers in 1994 and returning to the court for 32 games in 1996, finally retiring in uniform.

Johnson is now a hugely successful businessman, a basketball commentator, a doting husband and a grandfather to his son Andre's two children. Yet he's still raising money and awareness, always working to create the same limitless future for others.

"The only problem is, I would be happier if the numbers in the black and brown communities would go down," Johnson said, citing the majority of each year's 60,000 new U.S. cases of HIV in minority communities. "There's been millions of people that have died since I announced 20 years ago, and so this is a bittersweet day. Yes, I'm living, but people are still getting this virus even as we speak. We must change the mindset, and we must do a better job educating those who live in urban America about this disease."

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Fitness frees woman from weight 'shackles'

By Chika Oduah

Jennifer Turner (Photo/Bridget Batch)

When it comes to personal fitness, Jennifer Turner says "keep it simple, start small and be consistent."

The 37-year-old runner and Zumba instructor says she's in the best shape of her life. She's getting ready for her sixth 26.2-mile road race -- the 2011 New York City Marathon.

In her blog, Marathon Diaries and through her latest endeavor Mad Cool Fitness, Jennifer shares her journey to fitness and well-being, offering advice on living a healthy life.

For Jennifer, it's about commitment -- a consistent commitment.

But, Jennifer was not always the muscle-toned, weight-lifting, marathon-running rock star that she is today.

In an interview with theGrio, Jennifer discussed her road to better health and how more African-American women can learn to take time from their busy work schedules to get fit.

TheGrio: When did you begin to actively engage in personal fitness?

Jennifer Turner: I started being consistently active when I was 24 years old. That was 13 years ago. I struggled with asthma and being overweight as a child.

When I was 13, I lost about 40 pounds in 2 months by developing an eating disorder. I eventually worked through the disorder but the pathology of yo-yo and crash dieting continued until I was 24.

I had absolutely no tools for managing my health and managing stress, which has a significant impact on health. I also had been focusing all of my energy on losing weight instead of changing my lifestyle to being more active and healthy.

At 24, I was on my way to Stanford for business school and knew I would have two years to focus on my health. I decided enough was enough. I was going to change my life. I stopped weighing myself and committed to going to the gym everyday. I focused on developing the habit of being active everyday. Two months into my commitment, I had lost body fat, my clothes fit differently, I was attracted to healthier foods and most importantly I felt great and free!

When did you start running in marathons?

I did my first marathon 11 years ago in Dublin, Ireland. A friend suggested we sign up for the marathon and raise money for cancer research with Team in Training, or TNT for short.

I had never run outside before. I was still running in my 7th grade 1986 L.A. Gear cross trainers on the treadmill. And, I was not going to do the race.

I went home to Chicago and mentioned the race to my family almost as an absurd concept (that I was secretly intrigued by, deep down) and they laughed at me.

Given the complete absence of anything athletic in my childhood (I was a dancer, violinist, and a master at scamming my way out of gym) they thought the idea of me doing a marathon was well, nuts. But, their lack of belief lit a fire in me and I promptly signed up. TNT took me from L.A. Gear cross trainers to marathoner in four and a half months. I did a lot of cross training, which is how I got interested in doing triathlons.

After Dublin, I took a break from marathons and did countless 10Ks, half marathons, and triathlons. In 2008, I did the Los Angeles Marathon. My time qualified me for Boston, which I was fortunate to run twice. I also did New York last year.

I enjoy running, but I must admit, marathon training takes a lot out of you. I prefer to cross train and soon will be focusing on triathlon and shorter distances. In terms of marathons, however, I would like to do the Chicago marathon. I am a very different person now than I was growing up in Chicago. I'd like to go back to my hometown and show 'em what I got -- sort of the ultimate full circle victory lap.

What inspires you to engage in personal fitness?

When I first started on my fitness journey, I was in emotional pain about not being in control of my weight, of my body, and my emotions about weight and body.

I really just wanted some relief and wanted to get to a place where if I ate an extra chicken wing I wouldn't: a) get immediate feedback in the form of two extra pounds on the scale and b) keep beating myself up about it days after the fact.

What has happened in the 13 years since I started down this road is something infinitely greater, more powerful, and far surpassed the original, smaller more tactical goal.

Fitness has freed me from the shackles of weight.

What do you enjoy the most about fitness?

First, I truly enjoy the process of being active. Every day, I get to get up and accomplish at least one thing for that day that improves my health.

Second, in addition to enormous health benefits (I'm in much better shape at 37 than I was at 27), I have confidence that has come from setting fitness goals and achieving them. When I cross the finish line in a race, it is an accomplishment that no one can take away from me.

Third, being active is also a great way to relieve stress. Life is stressful. That's not going to change. You need productive tools you can use when the going gets rough to help you manage through. Being active can be one of those tools. For some people, being active is the first thing that falls off the 'to do" list when life is stressful; that was certainly the case for me when I had attempted and failed numerous times to be consistently active. Now, for me, it is something I lean on, and is quite foundational to my life. It gives me more energy to then effectively deal with the problem at hand, energy to give to others, energy to be happy.

When do you schedule your training workouts?

I work out in the mornings and often recommend this to people. Why? Firstly, I find it's the only time that is consistently free. For the most part, your Blackberry isn't blowing up nearly as much at 5 in the morning as it is at 5 in the evening.

Secondly, you have more energy in the morning -- physical energy because the day has not taken its toll yet and emotional energy to stay focused on your health goals. Finally, you will also have more energy throughout the day.

What is the first step African-American women can take when trying to begin a personal fitness regime?

Keep it simple, start small, and be consistent. Think of an activity you like to do. Then think through how you can do it consistently. Or make a commitment to achieving a fitness goal you can realistically do, for example walk every day for 30 minutes. Grab a girlfriend and do it together consistently.

Make a plan and organize your schedule so you can do it consistently. Most folks start out trying to do too much and end up not doing anything. Don't bite off more than you can chew. You will get overwhelmed and fail. Take it one step at a time.

How do you make fitness more enjoyable for you?

I love variety. I like to do different things to keep it interesting. Cross training is great because it puts you in the best overall condition, using different muscle groups in different activities.

I also like to get outside. The gym can be totally boring. For me, I need trees, sky, and air. This can be a little tricky when you live in a place like New York where there's always another plot twist in the ongoing saga that is the weather. But you make it work.

The other thing is music. I need my music. I've "Pitbulled," "Rihanned" and "Beyonced" my way through hundreds of miles. Really helps when I need a good kick.

Who inspires you in regards to personal health and fitness?

My trainer, Sid. He is a truly amazing person -- not just because of his fitness abilities, which are most impressive (he runs a 6-minute mile and has several world records). But, mostly because of his spirit and generosity, his willingness to share his time and knowledge with me and with so many others. You cannot take two steps in Central Park without someone saying, "Wassup, Sid?"

My mother told me the most important thing you can ever give someone is your time. I seriously want to be like Sid when I grow up. Thanks Sid.

Same-Sex Marriage and Blacks

Earl Wilson/The New York Times

Frank Bruni

By FRANK BRUNI

Without drawing much attention to it yet, one of the leading groups promoting same-sex marriage has taken an interesting tack, one that implicitly acknowledges the complicated relationship between gay Americans and another minority group not firmly on their side.

Two weeks ago the Human Rights Campaign inaugurated a new effort to move public opinion nationwide by unveiling a video testimonial, being distributed on the Internet for now, in which Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, speaks up for same-sex marriage, not yet legal in New Jersey.

Last week came another testimonial, from the comedian and actress Mo'Nique. And this week the latest of the videos, which will likely become TV commercials down the road, is being released. It stars Julian Bond, the former chairman of the N.A.A.C.P.

In its infancy the H.R.C. effort, called Americans for Marriage Equality, has showcased three prominent black Americans in a row. That's no accident.

In some perfect world where human nature is less messy and history less fraught, any and all people who had ever suffered discrimination would find common cause, gathering together under one big anti-bigotry banner.

In our world there are divisions and even tensions among minority groups, and the quest to legalize same-sex marriage - now permitted in six states and Washington, D.C. - has met particular resistance from African-Americans.

This isn't a topic that advocates for gay rights or their many black supporters relish discussing, because it focuses on a wedge where they wish there was a tighter bond. But polls indicate that support for same-sex marriage lags among black Americans.

In 2008 Californians passed Proposition 8, which prohibited state recognition of same-sex marriage, with a 52 percent majority. Voting analyses suggest that between 58 and 70 percent of black voters backed the prohibition.

Last April, as the successful push for same-sex marriage in New York picked up speed, a survey of state voters by the Siena College Research Institute found that 62 percent of white voters and 54 percent of Latino voters favored it. Only 46 percent of black voters did.

And in Maryland, which is almost certain to debate same-sex marriage next year, a recent poll by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies depicted a split among the state's residents, with 48 percent in favor and 49 opposed. Among black Marylanders, though, support fell to 41 percent and opposition rose to 59.

The Maryland legislature already considered a bill to legalize same-sex marriage early this year. It passed the Senate but faltered in the House of Delegates, which in the end didn't vote on it. Advocates said one reason was an outcry from black pastors and the chilling effect of that in a state whose percentage of black residents, 29.4, is much higher than the percentage nationally (12.6) or in New York (15.9), according to the 2010 census.

Gov. Martin O' Malley of Maryland, a Democrat, has promised to sponsor a new bill next year. But one of those pastors, Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Democrat in the House of Delegates, has vowed to fight it once again.

Like Burns, many African-Americans who oppose same-sex marriage do so on religious grounds. "This is a community composed of many Biblical literalists," Bond said in a recent phone interview, adding that they put a "wrong and wrong-headed" emphasis on certain Biblical references to homosexuality.

But it's also important to recognize that people lobbying for gay rights have at times given African-Americans pause by appropriating "civil rights" language and arguments in too broad a manner.

Wade Henderson, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, noted the existence of phrases like "gay is the new black" and said that attempts to equate the persecution of gay and black Americans can be "deeply offensive."

African-Americans were enslaved. And during their brutal struggle for justice, they couldn't make a secret of what set them apart from others, said Henderson, who supports same-sex marriage, during a phone interview Friday.

When gay men and lesbians glide over such details, he said, it feels "inherently disrespectful to the black experience in this country."

The Americans for Marriage Equality ads don't feel disrespectful. They feel very, very smart, the product of a movement becoming ever savvier about precisely whom it needs to persuade and how best to persuade them.

Booker's ad doesn't mention homosexuality. He talks about love and liberty.

Bond doesn't utter the phrase "civil rights" in his ad. He discusses "what's right and just," along with "commitment and stable families."

It pains him, he told me, to think that "black people of all people" might be an obstacle to ending any discrimination, including marriage discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

I have to believe that possibility is less likely than before, precisely because he and the architects of Americans for Marriage Equality aren't ignoring it. 

This column has been revised to note that Wade Henderson, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, supports same-sex marriage.

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Black Woman Says Braids Cost Her A Job

The EEOC is suing on behalf of Tyeastia Green who says a company recruiter told her to take out her braids to look more professional.

By Naeesa Aziz

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing Alliant Techsystems Inc., a Minneapolis company, for racial discrimination on behalf of a Black woman who claims she was passed over for a position because of her braids.

According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the company, Tyeastia Green, an African-American woman, claims that after successfully interviewing and being told she had the job, the company chose to hire a white male instead. Green says that the company’s recruiter advised her to take out her braids after her first interview to appear "more professional" in the interviews that would follow. Green initially followed the recruiter’s instructions and after the interview without the braids, Green says the recruiter told her that the company wanted to hire her and that Human Resources would be contacting her soon.

However, despite the news that she had secured a job with Alliant, the recruiter allegedly called Green back to inform her that she would need to meet with the company’s information technology director, but by then Green had replaced her braids. She went to the meeting with the braids and shortly thereafter she was told that the company decided to hire another candidate for the position.

“ATK allegedly did not think that Tyeastia Green fit its image of an IT person,” John Hendrickson, regional attorney for the Chicago district office of the EEOC, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this concern for 'image' has brought it to federal court.”

The EEOC says the company violated federal civil rights laws prohibiting racial discrimination when it rejected Green because of her race. The agency is seeking unspecified back pay and compensatory and punitive damages for Green, in addition to a court order preventing the company from discriminating in the future.

(Photo: Xinhua/Landov)

King memorial rekindles imaging debate

By Shelia M. Poole 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

During recent coverage of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, a television host urged viewers to stay tuned for a treat: the slain civil rights leader’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety.

Enlarge photo



APPeople view the new Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in Washington, Monday, Aug. 22, 2011.


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Before the group behind the memorial could replay the speech, it had to first secure the rights from the King Center.

The King estate guards his likeness, words and name closely, a tactic necessary to protect King’s legacy. But some question whether that control is too tight. Or appropriate.

That permission is needed to use the full-length “I Have a Dream” speech is, for some, troubling.

“I think to some extent, the effort to control smothers the message,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch, who has written extensively about King and the civil rights movement. “He belongs to the ages.”

Most think of King as history’s property, an American icon who personifies the nation’s highest ideals of justice and peace. Legally, though, his image belongs to his children, who seldom speak publicly about the decisions regarding King’s image. That has perhaps fueled some of the second guessing about control over King’s image, an old debate rekindled around this month’s memorial dedication.

Critics point to King’s image being used in commercials and a 2007 payment — $761,160 — from the foundation overseeing the construction of King’s monument to the company that handles the licensing of King’s image as proof decisions are made with finances in mind.

But former Atlanta Mayor Andy Young, a King confidant and close friend to the family, says the exchange is a business reality.

“They built a memorial to him, which is wonderful, but to build a whole marketing campaign around it wasn’t legal,” Young said. “It was the family’s responsibility to protect his legacy.”

Others say King, a private citizen whose historical stature rivals that of U.S. presidents, is unique.

“From all my looking around, I can’t find anything similar to this at all,” said David Barna, a spokesman for the National Parks Service, who stressed that he was not criticizing the deal. “We have lots of monuments and memorials all over the country. But rarely do you have these monuments established in contemporary times where people knew or were directly related to the individuals.”

Members of the King family and the foundation either declined to comment specifically on the licensing fee or could not be reached for comment.

“I think the King family has seen their father’s words commercialized and in this day of intellectual property, they quite honestly feel they should have some say and control over how those words and images are used,” aide Joe Madison, a host on SiriusXM, who was a co-host for TV One for the dedication. “It’s an ongoing argument.”

Philippa Loengard, assistant director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia University, said while she understands why the family might guard how King’s image is used, “they are probably one of the most careful, concerned and on-top-of-image protectors I’ve ever met. They are very aggressive.”

The King estate, for example, sued CBS television over the sale of a video documentary of the “I Have a Dream” speech, and eventually the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. An appeals court ruled the speech was covered by copyright law and not part the public domain.

And recently , the King estate sued Jackson, Miss., television anchor Howard Ballou to get some of King’s photographs, transcripts and other material. Ballou’s mother, Maude Ballou, worked for King when he was head of the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The suit contends that Maude Ballou, as an employee of both organizations “had access to many documents, photographs and other personal effects that belong to Dr. King,” according to The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger.

“The family has almost no option,” said Chuck Grimes, managing partner of Grimes & Battersby, an intellectual property firm that represents the likes of Jessica Simpson.