Destiny Church of New Zealand put on a traditional Maori Haka performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Courtesy YouTube/PBSNewsHour
Barack Obama heard about them and Hollywood star Jamie Foxx tweeted of meeting them, but the author of a new book on the Destiny Church is not convinced its kapa haka group belonged at a massive civil rights commemoration in Washington DC this week.
The 12-strong group from the SouthAuckland church led by Brian Tamaki did a five-minute haka on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King jnr's history-making "I Have a Dream" speech.
The group - invited by King's daughter Bernice - were photographed with Foxx, who later posted the picture on his Twitter page.
Tamaki re-posted it, tweeting "Hollywood nxt boys huh lol".
Less impressed was Massey University professor of history Peter Lineham, who published Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle in July.
While he respected Bernice King's right to invite the group, he found their presence "paradoxical".
"The whole essence of Martin Luther King was as a civil rights campaigner. Destiny have certainly stood up for Maori rights. Today the whole civil rights thing is for gay rights and they haven't exactly stood up for that."
