Southerns Christian president says group's differences resolved

CLEVELAND - The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, plagued by internal turmoil last year, has resolved its differences and is unified once again, said the group&#39;s president, Martin Luther King III. <br> <br> ``When we talk about divisiveness, last year we had some issues that we had to address,&#39;&#39; said the 44-year-old son of the Rev. Martin Luther King, who founded the SCLC. <br> <br> Last June, the board chairman criticized King and threatened to fire him over alleged deficiencies in fund-raising, leadership and time away from conference offices. <br> <br> ``Those issues have clearly been resolved. We are all on the same page now moving forward,&#39;&#39; said King, who became president in 1998. <br> <br> ``There won&#39;t be anything of that nature at all happening this year, because we really do have to face some severe issues, like racial profiling, that are devastating to people in communities every day.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The group&#39;s national convention, expected to draw about 2,500 people, opens Saturday and continues through Wednesday. King will deliver a keynote address Sunday night. <br> <br> Other speakers slated for the convention include the Rev. Al Sharpton, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King, widow of the slain civil rights leader. <br> <br> King said he hadn&#39;t changed his leadership style in response to the internal turmoil. He listed among his initiatives last year the move of SCLC headquarters to a new location in Atlanta, the start of a quarterly newsletter and the opening of several new chapters. <br> <br> ``I&#39;ve done a few things a little different, but in terms of my leadership style, no,&#39;&#39; King said. <br> <br> King weathered the board criticism and said in a speech at last year&#39;s convention that, that while he would never equal his father, he would do his best to lead the organization. <br> <br> The convention marks a return by the SCLC to a city that Martin Luther King Jr. visited often during the civil rights movement to meet with supporters and financial backers.