Donnie McClurkin says he was asked not attend a concert he was scheduled to headline after protests from activists. McClurkin was uninvited from a scheduled appearance at the Washington, D.C.-government sponsored “Reflections on Peace: From Ghandi to King” event. McClurkin has publicly talked about being delivered him from “the curse” of homosexuality. Reportedly the scheduled appearance the Grammy-winning singer sparked outcry from activists.
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), asked McClurkin not to perform, McClurkin said. In a video statement, McClurkin said he received a phone call the night before the concern that he was not welcome and uninvited.
According to a Washington Post article:
“The Arts and Humanities Commission and Donnie McClurkin’s management decided that it would be best for him to withdraw because the purpose of the event is to bring people together,” said Doxie McCoy, a spokeswoman for Gray, in a Washington Post article. “Mayor Gray said the purpose of the event is to promote peace and harmony. That is what King was all about.”
According to the Washington Blade, D.C.’s gay publication, D.C. gay activist and longtime civil rights advocate Phil Pannell called McClurkin’s public statements on homosexuality “vile.” Pannell and other LGBT activists said McClurkin’s participation in the event would be at odds with King’s call for ending discrimination and injustice against all people, according to the Blade article.
McClurkin said, in his video, “(It’s) quite unfortunate that today a black man, a black artist in uninvited from a civil rights movement.”
