The assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 brought his wife, Coretta Scott King, to the forefront of the civil rights movement.

Mrs King dedicated her life to the continuation of his work for racial equality and non-violent protest.

She worked to preserve his message through The King Center in Atlanta and fought for a national holiday in her husband’s memory.

Born in 1927, Coretta Scott grew up on a farm in Marion, Alabama.

Music was a major part of her life. After graduating in music and education in Ohio, she went to study singing in Boston, where she met her future husband.

Bus boycott

They married in 1953 and three years later moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where the young Martin Luther became active in the civil rights movement.

She raised four children, the first of whom was born in November 1955, only a few days before King led the boycott of Montgomery’s segregated buses that began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.

As her husband became more prominent, Mrs King supported his work and accompanied him when he spoke, sometimes speaking if he was not available. In 1959 the couple spent a month travelling in India visiting sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi.

But it was after Martin Luther King’s death in 1968 that she stepped fully onto the public stage, determined to continue her husband’s work.

She said in her autobiography, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr, that she felt compelled to carry on the civil rights movement.
Not Eating Until ImpeachmentLeslie Angeline began a fast yesterday, Rosa Park’s birthday.