Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

Dignity, elegance, courage, faith-filled and strength are all words that describe Coretta Scott King - a peace activist and civil rights leader. She was wife and partner of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and "First Lady" of the civil rights movement. She stood by Dr. King's side through thick and thin and fought tirelessly to keep his legacy alive. On January 10, 2006, Coretta Scott King rejoined Dr. King as she transitioned to her eternal reward.

Coretta Scott King was born in Heiberger, Alabama,on April 27, 1927,the third of four children to Bernice Mc Murray and Obadiah "Opie" Scott. She was named for her grandmother Cora, a woman of unusual strength and drive. Although Coretta never knew her grandmother, she was often told that she was much like her. Coretta's mother and maternal grandmother were seamstresses. One of her deepest regrets was never having known her grandma Cora.

Coretta's father had a keen business sense and unflagging work ethic that put him in competition with white businessmen. He combined chicken farming and hauling lumber as a business. He was the first "colored man" in the county to own a truck and later a sawmil; and, in 1946, he opened a grocery store on his own property. As a result of his entrepreneurial endeavors, he was often stopped and threatened by white men on the road at night. In spite of this, he was determined to make a way for his family despite the dangers. Coretta often her father say to her mother, "I may not be back.".

Mrs. Scott was a strong and righteous woman who taught Coretta the values of honesty, truth, compassion, perserveranc and the importance of keeping a spiritual focus. With the help of her children, she gardened, fed the hogs and chickens, and milked ad fed the cows while Mr. Scott worked away from home. Later, she worked along side her husband in the grocery store.

When Coretta entered school, she joined other community children in walking over four miles to Crossroads School. She would son realize the unfairness of white children riding to their well-built brick school while African-American children walked. She committed herself to getting an education so that she could use it as instrument to change conditions.

After completing the sixth grade at Crossroads, Coretta joined her sister at the Lincoln High School in Marion, Alabama. The Scotts paid four dollars and fify cents in tuition for each child as well as room and board for their children to live with a family during the week. White children were bussed to Marion High School daily. In Coretta's junior year, the county allotted some funds for transportaiton for African-American students and Mr. Scott converted an old truck into a bus that Mrs. Scott drove a total of forty miles each day.

Despite their limited schooling, her parents placed a high value on education and made enormous sacrifices to ensure that Coretta, her older sister Edythe, and brother Obie Leonard received the best possible education.

Coretta began working for a white cotton farmer at the age of ten. She dug long rows, making sure the width of a hoe was between each stalk. When the puffs were ready, she worked as a cotton picker, making from four to five dollars a season. She once picked 200 pounds of cotton a day earning an astonishing seven dollars. She learned in the cotton fields not only to endure tough situations, but also to overcome them. She was known to consistently pick more cotton than her maile cousins.

By the time she was fifteen, Coretta was director of the youth choirs. Her talent for music was fed by the unusally large collection of records the Scotts owned which included spirituals, gospel, jazz and blues.

For Coretta, Lincoln High School opened new worlds of thought. She developed a compelling drive to be somebody and to serve God. She sensed her service would come through music and began working on developing her musical talent. She played the trumpet and piano and sang in the chorus, appearing as soloist in recitals and musical productions while studying with a voice teacher. Coretta got a chance to leave the segregated South when she won a scholarship to join her sister as one of the few black studens at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She joined the college's NAACP chapter and Race Relations and Civil Liberties Committee. She first majored in Early Childhood Education but was inspired to change her plans after she sang on a program with Paul Robeson at an NAACP event. He encouraged her to study voice full-time and she dreamed of having a career like his, that combined music performance with social activism.

Prior to completing her studies at Antioch in 1951, Coretta was advised by the head of the music department to apply for admission to Boston's New England Conservatory of Music and to the Smith Noyes Foundation for a fellowship. She was accepted at the Conservatory and her plan was to specialize in voice while getting a music degree. Coretta arranged for lodging and breakfast by cleaning the floor on which she lived. Sometimes, her dinner consisted of graham crackers, peanut butter and fruit. She was deterrmined not to write home for money.

After college graduation, Coretta moved to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music and fulfill her dream of becoming a classical concert singer. One day in 1952, she was introduced to a man named Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a preacher pursuing his Ph.D. at Boston University. Two destinies linked that would later converge to change a nation - but Coretta did not know it at the time. She knew her calling in life was to make a difference in the world by working to change conditions for blacks in the South. She was certain her contribution would be through music, not ministry.

As Coretta and Martin became more acquainted with one another, they discovered that they shared similar concerns about the plight of their people. The more time she spent with him, she began to sense just how different he was. Coretta was always a champion of hope, dignity and freedom. Even before she met Martin, she was involved in the peace movement and because of this, she was the first to convince him to speak out against the Vietnam War. She has always had a keen sense of history and she blieved and frequently quoted Horace Mann's admonition: "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

On June 18, 1953, Coretta and Martin married and in September, took up residence in Montgomery, Alabama, where Coretta Scott King began to assume the many functions of the pastor's wife at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Coretta Scott King entered the world stage in 1955 as wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Prepared by her family, education, and personal commitment for a life dedicated to social justice and peace, she played an important leadership role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Her remarkable partnership with Dr. King also produced four children and a family devoted to social justice and nonviolent social change. During Dr. King's career, Mrs. King focused on raising their children, balancing her time between mothering and movement work, speaking engagements before church, civic, college fraternal and peace groups. To help raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the nonviolent dirct action organization for which Dr. served as first president, she conceived and performed a series of favorably reviewed Freedom Concerts. She met with great spiritual leaders, including Pope John Paul II, The Dalai Lama, DorthyDay and Bishop Desmond Tutu. She witnessed the historic handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yassir Arafat at the signing of the Middle East Peace Accords and stood along side Nelson Mandela when he claimed victory in South Africa's first free elctions. Mrs. King has traveled across our nation and world, speaking out on behalf of racial and economic justice, religious freedom, dignity and human rights for women, children, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, universal healthcare, educational opportunities, nuclear disarmament and environmental protection. She has lent her support to nonviolent freedom movements worldwide and has consulted with many world leaders, including Corezon Aquino, Kenneth Kaunda, and Thabo Mbeki. As one of the most influential women leaders, Coretta Scott King has tried to make ours a better world and, kn the process, has shaped make history.

Mrs. King led a life of extraordinary courage and strength. She did not speak her convictions publicly while failing to honor them privately. She did not hold grudges but rose above resentment to reconcile with others. She was woman of extraordinary gracd and dignity, sent to us by God "for such a time as this."

She leaves this legacy of love and reconciliation to her loving children, her devoted siblings, devoted sisters-in-law nieces and nephews, a loving and devoted assistant and a host of great nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.