To the editor:

In his State of the State address, Gov. Sam Brownback told the Legislature he is bold; the same day, by leading the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration march in Topeka, he showed the world he is a shameless hypocrite.

King fought for freedom, equality, brotherhood, reconciliation and justice and against hatred, discrimination and prejudice.

An ad that was crucial to his re-election campaign, run by Brownback three months ago, was about the Carr brothers, convicted African-American killers in Wichita. The ad asserted that Paul Davis favored the Carr brothers because he supported the decision of the Kansas Supreme Court, which said that the Carrs had been wrongly sentenced. The court did not overturn their convictions for multiple murders. The ad was a direct appeal to race prejudice and hatred. It was Kansas’ version of the infamous Willie Horton ad of 1988.

Brownback appealed to race prejudice in his campaign, then marched to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave his life fighting racial hatred and for reconciliation. It is outrageous hypocrisy and shows the governor to be a moral chameleon.