As the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., who led the American civil rights movement, Coretta Scott King was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States. King supported women’s rights and nonviolence. Together with her spouse, she took an active part in the “Civil Rights Movement.” African-Americans from middle-class households were King’s parents. She encountered several challenges in school because of the social structure that prohibited mixed-race kids from hanging out with white kids. King was compelled to participate in anti-racist movements as a result of experiencing racial discrimination. She had a gift for singing and desired to pursue a career in the industry. Her life’s trajectory was altered by her marriage to Martin Luther King Jr. She and her husband collaborated closely to win equal rights for African Americans. She attempted to get more female support because she opposed men taking the lead in the civil rights movement. King was forced to assume control of the movement her late husband had launched after his murder. She expanded the range of her advocacy, embracing issues like LGBT rights, international peace, and several other causes. To promote the idea of nonviolent social change, King founded a group using her husband’s name. Her tenacious campaigning led to the inauguration of King Jr.’s birthday as a federal holiday. King vocally denounced the apartheid regime. As the “First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement,” she is warmly recalled.
Early Childhood & Life
Alabama was the place of Coretta Scott King’s birth on April 27, 1927. Her parents, Obadiah King and Bernice McMurry King had three children in total. She had a younger brother named Obadiah Leonard and two older sisters named Edythe and Eunice. The Kings had a better financial position than the other African-American families in the neighborhood because they owned a farm. One of the earliest black car owners was King’s father.
King began working on the farm at a young age to help her family financially. She was a student at “Lincoln Normal School.” The closest school that accepted black students was 14 kilometers away from their homes. King earned his degree in 1945. She was a gifted vocalist, and the school chorus made her the principal soprano.
Following graduation, King enrolled at Ohio’s “Antioch College.” King was one of the few black students that attended the college even though it accepted non-white pupils. She was inspired to join the “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People” (NAACP) by racial prejudice against colored students. Later, she was awarded a scholarship to Boston’s “New England Conservatory of Music.”
The career of Coretta Scott King
King and Martin Luther King Jr. met while they were both attending Boston University to study. As they both campaigned for equal rights and believed in them, they grew close. King Sr.’s father reminded King that King would not be able to pursue a career in music as the wife of a Baptist pastor. Their love was unwavering, and they eventually won their parents’ approval. In June 1953, the pair got hitched in King’s home. King earned her diploma in voice and piano before she and her husband moved to Montgomery, Alabama.
King Jr. was appointed as the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church’s full-time pastor in 1954. King decided to teach in Sunday schools rather than pursue her aspirations of becoming a classical vocalist. She belonged to the church choir as well. King offered her unwavering support when King Jr. started the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” to denounce racial prejudice. She was unfazed even after receiving threatening phone calls.
King actively participated in the fight for civil rights legislation. She used her singing talent in her political endeavors. King made her stage debut at a concert in Birmingham in April 1958. She altered the style of the program and used her songs to tell the tale of the “Montgomery Bus Boycott.” To earn money for the “Southern Christian Leadership Conference,” which was formed by her husband, she held “freedom concerts” where she sang, read poetry, and gave lectures.
King was renowned for giving her husband unwavering support, even in dire circumstances. Their home was the target of a bombing and explosion in January 1956, which was started by white people who hated civil rights campaigners. King, despite their parents’ pleadings, was bold and refused to leave her husband. King Jr. was stabbed by a protester in 1958, and King stayed by his bed until he fully healed.
King stayed in touch with President John F. Kennedy personally. King Jr. was imprisoned for four months in 1960. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time, called King and pledged all assistance. King Jr. was detained again in 1963. King was permitted to speak to her husband after Kennedy, who was the president at the time, offered his assistance.
Martin Luther King Jr. was slain in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, in front of a hotel. King received his body the following day and oversaw the burial services. King came to Memphis four days after her husband’s passing to take part in a protest march in support of the region’s striking sanitation workers. King Jr. organized the march. King led the march as scheduled even though she was still mourning her husband’s passing.
Shortly after King Jr. passed away, King assumed control of the “Civil Rights Movement.” She spoke at a war protest on April 27, 1968, where her husband was scheduled to do the same. King subsequently expanded the scope of her work to cover issues such as international peace, LGBT rights, and women’s rights. She also expressed her views on the Vietnam War.
King established and long presided over the “Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.” The purpose of this organization was to preserve her husband’s legacy and views. King made an effort to collect her husband’s papers and paperwork, which were dispersed throughout the house.
King oversaw a 15-year effort to raise awareness of her husband’s accomplishments. President Ronald Reagan signed a law in 1983 designating her husband’s birthday as “Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” a federal holiday, as a result of her work. Every year, it is observed on the third Monday in January.
King spoke out against South Africa’s apartheid policy in the 1980s. She took part in demonstrations against this racial injustice. King visited South Africa in 1986 and had meetings with the country’s top officials, including Winnie Mandela. King was a proponent of international harmony. A founding member of the “Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy,” she was.
King advocated for lesbian rights. She asked for the “Civil Rights Act” to be changed to include the lesbian and homosexual communities. She asked the civil rights movement to join the fight against homophobia in April 1998. She extended an invitation to the lesbian community to take part in the ‘March on Washington’ 40th-anniversary celebrations in 2003. The LGBT community had never before been invited to a significant African-American gathering.
Individual Life of Coretta Scott King
Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice were King’s four children. Her offspring also became well-known civil rights campaigners in the same vein as their parents. King transferred the helm of the “King Center” over to her son Dexter after leading it for many years.
King experienced a small heart attack and a stroke in August 2005. Her condition briefly got better before declining once more. She made her final public appearance at a dinner in her husband’s honor in January 2006. King passed away on January 30, 2006, at the Mexican “Oasis Hospital.” She was receiving treatment for both her advanced ovarian cancer and her stroke. Former US presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter attended the funeral in Georgia.
Recognition & Achievements
My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr., her autobiography, was published by King in 1969. Throughout her life, she was given numerous distinctions and awards. The National Coalition of 100 Black Women gave her the “Candace Award for Distinguished Service” in 1987. King was given the “Golden Plate Award” by the “Academy of Achievement” in 1997. The “Government of India” awarded her the “Gandhi Peace Prize” in 2004.
Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of John F. Kennedy, and Ethel Kennedy, the spouse of Robert Kennedy, were both connected to Trivia King. Both of the women had spouses who had been killed. She helped them through their difficult times.
King came under fire for managing King Jr.’s estates. She urged that James Earl Ray, who killed her husband, be given a new trial. King thought that the crime had been committed by more than just Ray.
Coretta Scott King’s Net Worth
One of the wealthiest and most well-known civil rights leaders is Coretta Scott King. According to our research, Coretta Scott King has a net worth of $5 million, as reported by Forbes, Wikipedia, and Business Insider.