Coretta Scott King

Life

Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927, in Heiberger, Alabama. A trained vocalist, she married the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., with whom she had four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice.

While her husband led the civil rights movement, the family endured threatening phone calls and harsh denunciations, and their home was even bombed. When her husband was assassinated in 1968, their youngest child, Bernice, was five years old. Coretta did not withdraw from the movement; instead, she carried on her husband's work.

Until her death she remained a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church (Baptist) in Atlanta, where her husband had preached in the 1960s. In her later years she suffered from ovarian cancer and the effects of a stroke. She died on January 30, 2006, at a care facility in Rosarito, Mexico, at the age of 78.

Ministry and Accomplishments

• Participation in the movement through music: As a singer, she performed "Freedom Concerts" to raise funds for the movement. She also took part in numerous marches and demonstrations alongside her husband.
• Founding of the King Center: In 1968, the year of her husband's death, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center), an institution dedicated to carrying on the spirit of the nonviolent movement. The center stands immediately next to Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the couple are now buried there together.

Funeral

Her body lay in honor at the Georgia State Capitol, where members of the public paid their respects. She was the first woman and the first African American to lie in honor there. Mourners then continued to pay their respects at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The funeral service was held on February 7, 2006, at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, where her youngest daughter, Bernice, served in ministry. More than ten thousand mourners gathered, and four current and former U.S. presidents attended: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter. Bernice delivered the eulogy.

Assessment

The American press called her the "First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement." She is regarded as a figure who continued the struggle for equality for nearly forty years after her husband's death. The attendance of several former presidents at her funeral and the vast number of mourners reflect the stature she held in American society. Criticisms of or controversies surrounding her activities have not yet been addressed in this article and will be added once supporting sources are confirmed.