I chose Coretta Scott King because I feel that she was a very strong woman, even though most times you do not hear about her as we should. She was involved in so many activists communities and fought for them all even while being married to a male activists at the same time, which i'm sure was hard enough already.
Coretta Scott King was born in Marion, Alabama April 27, 1927. She was an American Author, activist, civil rights leader, and wife of Martin Luther King Jr. Coretta fought for gay rights, women's rights, human rights, and equal rights along side her husband.
After the death of MLK Jr., Coretta Scott King dedicated her time to making sure her husband’s legacy was recognized. Her dedication came to national holiday on January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. day, a memory to his life, death, and dedication to the economic, political, and social advancement of black people. following the death of her husband she didn't stop her solo activism work, and created the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in Atlanta, Georgia after organizing and fundraising in 1981. She served as the president and executive officer until 1995.
King protested in south Africa against the oppressive system of apartheid as a part of the International Peace Movement. Coretta was also a regular columnist writing on social issues and a commentator on CNN until her death in 2006, following a stroke the year before. She was named “Woman of the Year” two times, once in 1960 and 1968. The Coretta Scott King Award, created by the American Library Association, was an award named after King which is presented to a Black author or Illustrator every year for inspirational or educational work. An author, wife, mother, and activist, Coretta Scott King was an incredible inspiration and tireless worker for the rights of others. One of her famous quotes captures her life's work of equality for all, especially her dedication to gay rights,
“Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and person hood.”
Coretta Scott King was the recipient of various honors and tributes both before and after her death. She received honorary degrees from many institutions, including Princeton, Duke and Bates College. She received a Horace Mann Award from Antioch College in 2004 and an Outstanding Alumni Award from the New England Conservatory of Music.
works cited:
After the death of MLK Jr., Coretta Scott King dedicated her time to making sure her husband’s legacy was recognized. Her dedication came to national holiday on January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. day, a memory to his life, death, and dedication to the economic, political, and social advancement of black people. following the death of her husband she didn't stop her solo activism work, and created the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in Atlanta, Georgia after organizing and fundraising in 1981. She served as the president and executive officer until 1995.
King protested in south Africa against the oppressive system of apartheid as a part of the International Peace Movement. Coretta was also a regular columnist writing on social issues and a commentator on CNN until her death in 2006, following a stroke the year before. She was named “Woman of the Year” two times, once in 1960 and 1968. The Coretta Scott King Award, created by the American Library Association, was an award named after King which is presented to a Black author or Illustrator every year for inspirational or educational work. An author, wife, mother, and activist, Coretta Scott King was an incredible inspiration and tireless worker for the rights of others. One of her famous quotes captures her life's work of equality for all, especially her dedication to gay rights,“Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and person hood.”
Coretta Scott King was the recipient of various honors and tributes both before and after her death. She received honorary degrees from many institutions, including Princeton, Duke and Bates College. She received a Horace Mann Award from Antioch College in 2004 and an Outstanding Alumni Award from the New England Conservatory of Music.
works cited:
https://blackthen.com/coretta-scott-king-her-activism-and-legacy/
I think its great you paid tribute to her, when sometimes her legacy could be shadowed by the work her husband did. She deserves just as much recognition.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say that I was unaware of Coretta's accomplishments outside of her husband, but after reading your blog I really admire her. I think its a shame that she isn't taught about in school on the same level as her husband, especially considering her (at the time, groundbreaking) fight for equality for the gay community.
ReplyDeleteIt is really beautiful and touching that after her husbands death, Coretta dedicated her life to making sure his memory is never forgotten. However, after all of her courage and dedication, I feel as though she deserves just as much recognition as her husband.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing about Coretta! I think that often times she is over looked because of the accomplishments of her husband. I personally never knew that she did this much. It is so touching that after her husband was killed she continued on his work. I was unaware that she opened the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. I didnt know she continued to comment on CNN on various social issues of the day, right up until her death. It is so touching to see that she fought for the rights of all, including the LGBTQA population. I never knew this about her and I'm glad you included in in your blog.
ReplyDeleteI love Coretta king so I'm actually happy you wrote about her. She is an incredible women so for you to be interested in her is fantastic. Not a lot of people care about what she did only her husband.
ReplyDeleteYou often hear the saying "Behind every great man is a great woman", and while MLK Jr. and Coretta can definitely fit into this saying, to me it seems more like they were a great man and woman standing beside each other. Definitely both American heros!
ReplyDeleteI am very happy that you chose to write about Coretta! She was another woman I was very interested in because I feel that the fact that she did everything she could to get her husbands name to go down in history even after his death is just as important too. She was married to a very known man, but what many people fail to realize is that she was just as important. Without some of her help after MLK's death, some of the changes that each of them were fighting for may not have made it to be "changes". The fact that she was able to be a commentator for CNN is almost amazing due to the fact that she was a female. Thanks for this great post!
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