Preston King
1936–

Educatior, writer

In 1956, the U.S. military draft required all males at the age of eighteen to register to be drafted in the event of war. At this time, Preston King was a student at Fisk University in Tennessee. King received a deferment because of his student status. He completed his studies at Fisk with high honors, and he was given a scholarship to the London School of Economics, England to pursue graduate studies. The draft board at Tennessee had requested that he make his request to his hometown board in Albany, Georgia. His draft deferment application was accepted in Georgia, and he was given two years deferment to pursue his studies in London, England.

When he returned from London, he visited his family in Albany, Georgia, and before returning to London to complete his studies, he visited the draft board in his hometown. When he went to express his gratitude to the staff in the office and check his paperwork for correctness, the people of the draft board realized that he was black. King continued his studies in London, but the respectful addresses in his early correspondences from the draft board were absent in his later correspondences. After two years of graduate studies in London, King was awarded yet another scholarship to pursue doctoral studies. King had to ask for another extended deferment of his draft. He was eligible for the extended deferment, but his request was refused in a very insulting manner. He received a letter commanding him to report for a physical examination before his induction. King was not antiwar, but he was insulted by the tone of the letter that threatened him. King addressed the order by commanding the same respect that was given to his white counterparts when they were invited to report to duty. This led to his prosecution on four counts of draft evasion as was expressed in a letter from the draft board.

King had addressed the racism that was practiced by the draft board. He also stated that he would not submit to the injustice that was being meted out to him, and that he would prefer to be jailed than to submit to the degra-dation because of his race. In 1961, when King visited his family, federal marshals arrested him. When the trial commenced in the spring of 1962, his brother, C. B. King, a civil rights attorney, defended him. His main defense was that refusing an African American student deferment to study when he was fully eligible and changing the salutation in correspondences to King constituted racism and inequality. In the Jim Crow South, a jury of all white males gave a guilty verdict, and King was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. King's appeal was made and his bail bond was set at an enormous figure. However, the King family and many members of the Albany community pooled the money, so King was not detained in jail. On his father's advice, he fled to London to evade the jail sentence, and to continue his studies. King was fully aware that he could not re-enter the United States without threat of imprisonment because he was now guilty of evading federal prosecution.

The Kings of Albany, Georgia

Preston King was born in Albany on March 3, 1936. His parents Clennon and Margaret King were well known in the society. King had five brothers—Allen, Clennon Jr, Chevene (C.B.), Slater and Paul—and one sister, Muriel. The King family was no stranger to racism as Clennon Jr. felt the brunt of racism when he was refused admission to graduate school at the University of Mississippi. His application actually led to his incarceration, when the state deemed him insane and forced him into the state asylum on the premise that any African American who tried to gain admission to such a prestigious white institution must be insane. After this saga, Clennon Jr. was accepted into another university where he gained his MA. Clennon's case opened the eyes of all his siblings to the struggles that African Americans had to face in a society that decried their race.

The Kings were educated African Americans who were aware of their rights as U.S. citizens. Their parents instilled in them the idea that African Americans should use education to better themselves. The King boys were all college graduates who excelled in their respective fields. Mr. King was the first African American restaurateur in Georgia, and he was also the head of Albany's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Mr. King was concerned with the civil liberties of his people, and he fought for these liberties, which might have attributed to the blatant discrimination his boys faced. King's mother was a teacher, and both of his parents attended Tuskegee Institute where they met. Clennon King worked as a coachman for Booker T. Washington when he attended Tuskegee Institute. He used his wages to supplement his fees for his tuition.

Life in Exile

By 1969, King had gained his doctoral degree in political science from the London School of Economics. Then he did post graduate work at the University of Vienna, University of Strasbourg, and University of Paris. He taught in many parts of the world, including Cameroon, New Zealand, and Uganda. He was a visiting lecturer to the London School of Economics, England; McGill University, Canada; and Bellagio, Italy. He was also the chair at the University of Lancaster in the Political and International Relations Center Department. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Fisk University.

In exile, King married a British citizen, Murriel Hazel Stern. His first child, his daughter, Oona was born in 1967. His second child, Slater, was born in 1968. His son was named after his brother who had been killed in a car accident, the year before King's son was born. King did not attend the funeral because he was unable to return to the States. King and Murriel divorced, but he maintained close ties with his children. After King moved to northeastern England in 1986, he married his second wife Raewyn Stone, and King's third child Akasi Peter was born. King's daughter Oona became a politician, and she was elected into the British Parliament and was a member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. Oona was the second woman of African decent to be elected in the British Parliament. Her mixed race and her father's experiences helped her learn to deal with race relationships, and this special ability gave her the edge in her political life. She was elected to Parliament for a majority Muslim constituency.

Despite his achievements, King suffered emotionally during his exile. Several family members died, but he was unable to attend their funerals. First, his brother, Slater, then his father, followed by his mother and brothers, Allen and C. B. King became resolute, and he was determined to see his oldest brother, Clennon, Jr. when he heard that he was very sick. The United States was evolving into a less racially charged society, and King was willing to take a chance in returning.

King's love of family prompted him. In his absence, he did everything to maintain family ties with his relatives in Albany, Georgia, and all over the United States. They often met in family gatherings outside the United States. They enjoyed the tropical climates of the Caribbean and Africa, but King felt an emptiness as he wanted to do something great for his country and his race. He had to enter his country to make his contribution.

Chronology

1936

Born in Albany, Georgia on March 3

1958

Graduates from Fisk University; gains scholarship to study at London School of Economics in England

1961

Arrested and charged with four counts of draft evasion

1962

Flees to England to avoid imprisonment and begins

1967

Writes his first book, Fear of Power; daughter Oona is born

1968

Son Slater is born

1969

Earns Ph.D. in London

1986

Marries second wife, Raewyn

2000

Pardoned by President Clinton; returns to the United States

Bringing Him Home

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned the persons who evaded the draft when the Vietnam War was fought in 1960. However, King was not pardoned because he was also charged with avoiding federal prosecution. King's case was appealed regularly and was presented in vain to three presidents—Carter, Reagan, and Bush—requesting amnesty. Despite these failures, King's family remained vigilant in their campaign. His nephew, Clen-non King, used his position as a journalist to air his uncle's story to gain support for his pardon. At about the same time, Oona was invited to Atlanta, Georgia, to participate in a documentary about the civil rights movement and she brought up her father's situation at a news conference. President Bill Clinton was drawn to King's story. Major television programs such as the Today Show and 60 Minutes gave time to King's story as they interviewed Oona. Subsequently, she accompanied her father on a risky visit home when his oldest brother was dying. She believed that the federal government would find it difficult not to pardon her father because of widespread support for him in the United States.

On February 21, 2000, President Clinton announced that King was pardoned. King entered the United States after thirty-nine years in exile, now a free man. He remained concerned about social, economical, and political issues in the world, especially in Africa. He was also engaged in preparing his autobiography.

After being pardoned in 2000, he became scholar-in-residence at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, and distinguished professor of political philosophy at Emory University. King was also the founding editor of Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP). He is a director of the Black Leadership and Ideologies in the South since the Civil War (BLIS).

King writes on various subjects, including politics, economics, and sociology. His first book Fear of Power was published in 1967, and his writings span four decades. Some of the most popular titles are Federalism and Federation, Ideology of Order: A Comparative Analyses of Jean Bodin and Thomas Hobbes, Thinking Past a Problem: Essays on the History of Ideas, and Tolerations. In 2004, King co-edited a volume titled Black Leadership. King's books educate Americans and expose injustices in parts of the African continent.

REFERENCES

Books

Henderson, Ashyia, ed. Contemporary Black Biography. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001.

Online

"Dr. Preston King's Desktop." http://www.prestonking.net/ (Accessed December 21, 2005).

Thornell, Richard Paul. "The Case and Pardon of Professor Preston King." The New Crisis, September/October 2000. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3812/is_200009/ai_n8927402 (Accessed December 21, 2005).

Wilkerson, Isabel. "The Exile And His Daughter—Preston King, scholar, author, draft evader, 40 years in waiting for a pardon." Essence, February 2001.http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_10_31/ai_69795112 (Accessed December 21, 2005).

                                  Denise Jarrett