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Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, who has said God delivered him from "the curse" of homosexuality, did not appear in a Saturday evening concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, after several gay rights activists objected to his participation in the event.

McClurkin was scheduled to perform at the D.C. government-sponsored concert with other singers at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial during the "Reflections on Peace From Gandhi to King" event. But at the request of Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), who fielded concerns from the activists Friday, the Grammy-winning singer decided not to perform, a mayoral spokeswoman said.

"The commission on human rights and Donnie McClurkin's management decided that it would be best for him to withdraw because the purpose of the event is to bring people together," said Gray's spokeswoman, Doxie McCoy. "Mayor Gray said the purpose of the event is to promote peace and harmony. That is what King was all about."

However, McClurkin said that he was in fact "asked not to attend."

He said in a video statement that the mayor "uninvited me from a concert that I was supposed to headline."

McClurkin said that "there should be freedom of speech as long as it's done in love."

In 2002, McClurkin wrote on a Christian Web site that he struggled with homosexuality after he was molested by male relatives when he was 8 and 13. "I've been through this and have experienced God's power to change my lifestyle," he wrote. "I am delivered and I know God can deliver others, too."

"I can't let off. I didn't call myself -- God called me to do what I do," McClurkin told The Postin 2004. "If this is a war, we are willing to fight. Not a war of violence, but a war of purpose."

Phil Pannell, a local gay rights activist and civil rights advocate, said he raised his objections with the mayor's office on Friday. "I take no joy that he is not performing," he said. "I really admire Donnie McClurkin's artistry, but this is a situation where a political polemic obscured his artistry."