Guest Author - Linda Sue Grimes

Coretta Scott was born in Marion, Alabama, on April 27, 1927, to Obadiah and Bernice Scott. As valedictorian she graduated from Lincoln High School. She completed a B.A. in music education from Antioch College then studied music at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music, earning a degree in voice and violin.

She met Martin Luther King, Jr., in Boston, where he was studying for a doctorate in theology. They married June 18, 1953 and moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in September 1954. Dr. King began serving as pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and Mrs. King performed the many duties as pastor’s wife.

Mrs. King asserted that her most important duty was the nurturing of her four children, Yolanda Denise (1955), Martin Luther, III (1957), Dexter Scott (1961), and Bernice Albertine (1963). She has been considered a leading figure in the Civil Rights Movement, especially after the assassination of her husband in 1968.

She traveled extensively speaking out on racial and economic justice, women's and children's rights, religious freedom, the plight of the poor and homeless, and a host of other social issues. Mrs. King supported world-wide democracy and advised many world leaders such as Nelson Mandela.

Mrs. King traveled to India in 1959 with her husband and joined a pilgrimage to visit with disciples of the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. In 1964 they traveled to Oslo, Norway, where Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Using her musical background, she created and performed a Freedom Concert series that featured poetry with musical selections. This series served as a fundraiser for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the activist organization of which Dr. King was first president.

In 1969 the American Library Association established an award for children’s book authors, the Coretta Scott King Award to be “[p]resented annually to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution published during the previous year. The separate award for illustrator was added in 1979.”

After the assassination of her husband, Mrs. King determined to keep his dream alive. She worked tirelessly for the foundation set up to achieve her husband’s dream of racial equality, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change located in Atlanta.

Mrs. King led the campaign for stabling her husband’s birthday as a national holiday. In 1983 Congress enacted legislation that designated January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Every year since 1986 millions of admirers have celebrated Dr. King’s birthday with tributes and memorial speeches. It is recognized world-wide.
Considered one of the most influential African American leaders of all time, Mrs. King has been awarded honorary doctorates from sixty colleges. One observer has noted, “A woman of wisdom, compassion and vision, Coretta Scott King has tried to make ours a better world and, in the process, has made history.”

Mrs. King suffered a stroke and mild heart attack on August 16, 2005. The stroke left her unable to speak or move her right side. After regaining some ability to speak, she was released from the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on September 22, 2005. She continued physical therapy at home.

Former mayor of Atlanta and United Nations ambassador, Andrew Young, who is a close friend of the King family, reported Mrs. King’s death. He said, “I understand that she was asleep last night and her daughter (Bernice King) went in to wake her up and she was not able to and so she quietly slipped away. Her spirit will remain with us just as her husband’s has.”

Poet Maya Angelou has responded to the news of Mrs. King’s passing: “It’s a bleak morning for me and for many people and yet it’s a great morning because we have a chance to look at her and see what she did and who she was.” Thus begins many glowing tributes that will be forthcoming for this great American.

Reference:
Coretta Scott Award
Family on the Frontline
Coretta Scott King Has Died

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Books by Linda Sue Grimes:
Jiggery-Jee's Eden Valley Stories
Singing in the Silence: Poems of Faith
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