Meeting Martin Luther King Jr.
Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., was born on April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama. She received her B.A. in music from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. After graduating, she enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1951. It was there that she met Dr. King who was a graduate student of theology at Boston University. She graduated with a degree in voice and violin.
In 1953, Coretta Scott King married Dr. King. They had four children together: Yolanda, Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice. In September 1954, the Kings moved to Montgomery, Alabama where Dr. King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. After Dr. King became involved in the Montgomery bus boycott, he became a central leader in the civil rights movement. While he traveled around the country promoting the cause of civil rights, Coretta King was busy raising their children.
Carrying on Dr. King’s Legacy
After Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, Coretta King worked toward the fulfillment of her husband’s goal for equality and social justice. Just days after his murder, she participated in the Poor Peoples Campaign, which had been Dr. King’s last protest effort. In furtherance of her newfound occupation, Coretta King traveled the world speaking out against social injustice, co-founded organizations such as the Black Leadership Forum and the Black Leadership Roundtable, and continued her involvement in organized demonstrations. One of her greatest achievements came with her leadership in creating a holiday to honor Dr. King. Her effort was finally realized in 1986 when Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday.
In 1968, King founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The King Center promotes Dr. King’s legacy of equal, justice, and peace. The center houses a library and archive of the civil rights movement. It is part of a 23-acre historic park and is located in the Freedom Hall complex.
In August 2005, King suffered a stroke and a mild heart attack. On January 31, 2006, King passed away at the age of 78.
Books by the Coretta Scott King: My Life with Martin Luther King Jr. (1969)
