Out Spotlight LVIII

Today's Out Spotlight is Lynn Cothern

Cothern , gay out and white, found himself to became a part of continuing the legacy of civil rights and social justice for all brought to the forefront of the United States by Dr. Martin Luther King. Growing into a job he felt was divinely given to him, he found himself at the side Coretta Scott King as her assistant and essentially chief of staff.

A self confessed country bumpkin from Fayetteville, Tennessee, as a student at the Atlanta Art Institue he looked for a part time job to support him . He found himself with a decision either take a part time job at The King Center or use his transfer letter to get a guaranteed job at Sears. Lynn Cothern chose to work at the The King Center.

His first job was in the Center's library and archives assign accession numbers for the archive items in the center, after three months was transferred to the office of the executive vice president of government and international affairs. Three months later he was tapped by the Center's founder, Mrs. Coretta Scott King herself, to work on the files in her office.

But all did not agree with Mrs. King decision for Cothern as her assistant. It took some at the center a while to realize the vision. They weren't thrilled with King's choice of a gay white male to head her office. He would, after all, be accompanying her on most public appearances - she makes nearly 200 a year - and therefore be very visible. But Mrs King believe in Cothern and knew this was the right choice.

"Several of her board members and other people were like, 'You don't need that gay white boy traveling around with you,'" "Mrs. King was very clear. She said, 'I know what I need.' She was very clear about it. 'He does his job and that's what I'm about, not about the fact that he's white or gay.'"

All the while making time to volunteer in causes close to him. It was the 80's and the AIDS crisis, Cothern decided to be a part of a buddy program for those with AIDS which then led him into new directions.

"I was a buddy captain and I had five or six buddies that I helped make the transition,""I was with them through their transition. Each time it took a toll on me personally, and it also gave me a tremendous amount of growth personally and I wanted to continue to do the work but as many who worked at this time in HIV and AIDS, you get tired. And I wanted to do something that wasn't so draining and so I started working more in the gay and lesbian community on issues. I've never seen myself as just as a gay activist. I try to see myself as a human rights activist that specializes, maybe, in queer issues. But I work on all the progressive issues because I believe very strongly that everything is interconnected. Where you see racism and sexism, you'll see homophobia."

In 1990’s a Georgia based lesbian was fired from the Cracker Barrell restaurants for being perceived as gay was just one of the instances where Cothren was able to apply his skills and first hand knowledge of civil rights for the benefit of the LGBT community. Cothern took up the cause.

But Cothern didn't find it all easy all the time to balance his all commitments.

"I remember doing Cracker Barrel and I talked about the mammy dolls and the confederate flags in their stores and there were some people - and people I respected actually - who said that I was taking the queer out of the issue because I was showing where they were racist and sexist, because they didn't have women in upper management or on the board or anything," said Cothren. "And the real issue was the fact that gay people were being fired and I needed to just focus on that."

Working in King's office afforded him the chance to be a bridge builder between the black and gay communities. In 2003, Cothren helped organize the 40th anniversary march on Washington and ensured that no less than three openly-gay speakers found their way to the podium. One does not have wonder just how much of an effect Cothren had on his boss, who spoke out strongly in favor of gay rights. During Mrs. King's lifetime she became a very vocal advocate for LGBT rights and on many occasions compared the 1960’s civil rights struggle to the current day struggle for LGBT rights.

Cothern, the country boy who was never ashamed of who he was, met heads of state, political and social advocates, and celebrities, all the time being Lynn. His friends and acquaintances include Maya Angelou, Oprah, Rev Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and former President Bill Clinton.

Always finding a way to serve all of his commitment to equality and his community, Cothern was a driving force in the Atlanta Pride Committee, raising it from 5,000 participants in the 1980's to over 320,000 by 1997. And he has been a spokesperson on GLTB and civil rights on Larry King, Oprah, and 20/20.

He continues his commitment to fight all 'ism's.

He now serves as the Director of Administration for the Girl Scout International in New York City.

Lynn Cothern - official site

Video Interview with Lynn

Coretta Scott King's Gay "Son"