Birthday: April 27, 1927

Who is Coretta Scott King?

Coretta Scott King was the wife of the famous civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., and was a civil rights activist known for her advocacy in ending injustice within the country. She was also known to work for peace and justice organizations within America.

Five Facts about Coretta Scott King

• She was known for her skills in singing and playing the violin
• She and Martin Luther King Jr. met during their college days
• She had four children 
• She founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
• She helped create Martin Luther King Day

Quotes from Coretta Scott King

“Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul.”

Coretta Scott King’s Biography

Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama. Both of her parents were working as entrepreneurs. However, her mother was exceptionally talented at music. As such, she developed an interest in music at a very young age. 

During her days in grade school, she began to join the school choir, and later on became its lead singer. Afterward, she took her high school studies at a private school, Lincoln High School, which was in Marion. With her interests in music still at heart, she took voice lessons, played various instruments, and was taught to read notes and music. 

When she was 15, she was the director of the school’s choir and a pianist in her church’s choir. She graduated with flying colors, taking the valedictorian honor in 1945.

She then attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio to get her Bachelor’s Degree in Arts majoring in Music and Education. There, she studied voice and music education while being a member of the college’s chapter, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She later said in an article published by Opportunity that her time in Antioch prepared her for the life of a civil rights defender. 

Due to her outstanding talent, she received a scholarship to further her studies in music at the New England Conservatory of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Then, around 1952, it was at that time where Scott King met her future husband and fellow civil rights defender, Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther was studying for a doctorate degree in Theology at Boston University’s School of Theology. At that time, she was wary of dating a Baptist Minister. 

However, she was impressed by King’s uncanny intellect and sophisticated style that she ended up dating him. The two were married at Scott’s family home on June 18, 1953 and later, both of them returned to Boston where Scott finished her music degree in June 1954.

Later on, they would move to King’s hometown of Montgomery, Alabama where Luther King would become a pastor for Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and Scott did her duties as the pastor’s wife.

The Kings’ become Civil Rights Defenders

Soon after they moved, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church became a center for the Civil Rights Movement in the state of Alabama. With that, the Kings also received death threats from Supremacist groups in the area. However, both Luther and Scott continued to preach against the injustices happening in Alabama. 

Soon after, Martin Luther King Jr. began to travel around the world to preach about the advocacy of ending injustices and protecting civil rights, especially for African Americans who were a constant target of injustices. 

Scott was focused on raising their four kids: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice. However, she continued to serve a critical role in campaigning for civil rights and ending injustices in the 50s and 60s. She was performing in freedom concerts, doing poetry about promoting civil rights, doing lectures on it, and so much more.

In addition, Scott also accompanied King in his journeys to spread the civil rights movement to other nations. They traveled to Ghana in 1957 and to India in 1959. During her visit to India, she was moved by how women served an important role in the political scope of India and she implemented what she saw on her campaigns in the United States for women to have the same critical role in shaping the nation. 

Continuing Martin Luther King’s advocacy

Unfortunately, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. However, she continued to strive for the same advocacy for equality of civil rights; preaching about her late husband’s advocacy for nonviolent protests. She led a march for sanitation workers in Memphis 3 days later. Later that same month, she spoke in lieu of her late husband in a rally in New York. In 1968, she co-launched the Poor People’s Campaign. After that, she participated in more anti-poverty rallies across the country.

With her heart committed to continuing MLK’s legacy, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr, Center for Nonviolent Social Change. She also helped in the construction of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

She continued her fight for civil rights equality in the 70s and 80s, speaking publicly in various nonviolent rallies and gatherings. Ultimately, she wrote columns that were seen around the nation that moved people to have a national holiday dedicated to remembering the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and to continue promoting his fight for social equality and justice. Around that time, she continued to spread the civil rights movement throughout the country.

Remembering her legacy

Throughout her life, she dedicated most of it to fighting for the oppressed and the unheard. She continued to preach for civil rights equality and in ending social injustices happening across the country.

On January 30, 2006, Coretta Scott King died in her sleep at a health center in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. 

Today, we remember what she has done for the good of the country: advocating the civil rights movements, empowering women to play an important role in shaping society, and to fight for the unheard and the voiceless.