A new kind of liberation theology has taken over the “pro-life” movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King, at the wheel. Tomorrow in Birmingham, Alabama — “on the site where peaceful civil rights activists were attacked with dogs and water hoses,” as Fr. Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, writes in an email — activists will come together to “work for freedom for the unborn.” Participants will travel by bus through several cities that have been selected for their historic role in the civil rights movement.

“Pro-life” leaders have been calling for an end to what they call the “black genocide,” saying that a disproportionate number black babies are aborted each year.  The rhetorical drive to connect anti-choice efforts with civil rights was a short one.

The New York Times and others have surmised that the predominantly white pro-life movement sees black genocide as a chance to court black members.

UPDATE 4.28.10: For more related reading, catch Sarah Posner’s post at AlterNet today.