Bush pressured King family to disinvite Belafonte

Typical, isn’t this? We can’t possibly have Prince George share the stage with someone he knows is a vocal critic, can we? Better to “disinvite” a long time friend of Dr. King, who had been scheculed to speak at Coretta Scott King’s funeral.

Legendary entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte on Tuesday explained his absence from Coretta Scott King’s funeral.

Belafonte told reporters before a speech at Case Western Reserve University that President Bush influenced the King family to disinvite him from the funeral in suburban Atlanta on Feb. 7.

Belafonte, known to be a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., said he was told about the decision the day before the funeral, at which he had been scheduled to speak.

The King children made the final decision, Belafonte said, but they were “fiercely intimidated by the president’s representatives.”

Belafonte has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration.

Read more here.