In memory of a great women
today. She died at a rehabilitation center in Mexico.
Born April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama, Mrs. King graduated as valedictorian of her high school class. Following graduation, she traveled to Ohio to attend Antioch College, where she received a B.A. in music and education. After completing her degree at Antioch, Mrs. King went to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. There, she received a degree in violin and voice.
It was there, in Boston, that she met Martin Luther King, Jr., a theology student at United Methodist-related Boston University. The two of them traveled back to Marion, Alabama to be married on June 18, 1953.
The mother of four children-Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine-Mrs. King worked closely with her husband to organize marches and sit-ins and she sang and read poetry in “Freedom Concerts” to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Speaking of her ongoing courage and determination, both during her years with Rev. King and the years following his death, the Rev. Safiyah Fosua writes of Mrs. King, "She answered a hard call at a high price."
"I hope she will be remembered not only as the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” writes Garlinda Burton, but “as a woman of courage and vision, passion and…witness in her own right. She wasn't just the woman behind the man; she was a solider for peace and justice in her own right."
Mrs. King suffered a heart attack and stroke last summer and had been recuperating at her home in Atlanta.
As you remember today-and in the days to follow-the King family and all who morn Mrs. King’s death, let me share with you this prayer, penned earlier today by the Rev. Fosua:
O Lord.
The saints are marching in
Martin and Rosa
…now Coretta.
Who will stand in her place before you
willing to give up her own dream
of a home in the suburbs
and undisturbed summer nights
without death threats
and anonymous haters on the phone?
Who will take his place before you
ready to struggle for your dream
of a day when all of humanity loves like family
and none are set-aside for slave or lackey?
Now that the saints have begun to march in
will we be overcome with nostalgia
over days gone by?
Or will we continue to go forward?
On this day, when the bell tolls for Coretta Scott King,
we give you thanks that there was once a woman
who heard a word from you while kneeling alongside the man she loved.
We [were blessed to share] space with a woman who continued to carry out your vision
even after it claimed her husband.
We felt the presence of an elegant woman who stood for God
with the prophetic mantle draped around her shoulders.
Lord, may memories of
Coretta's life and Martin's life
trigger a renaissance of care, concern, and continued action
for the least of these
who continue to live among us.
Amen.
Born April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama, Mrs. King graduated as valedictorian of her high school class. Following graduation, she traveled to Ohio to attend Antioch College, where she received a B.A. in music and education. After completing her degree at Antioch, Mrs. King went to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. There, she received a degree in violin and voice.
It was there, in Boston, that she met Martin Luther King, Jr., a theology student at United Methodist-related Boston University. The two of them traveled back to Marion, Alabama to be married on June 18, 1953.
The mother of four children-Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine-Mrs. King worked closely with her husband to organize marches and sit-ins and she sang and read poetry in “Freedom Concerts” to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Speaking of her ongoing courage and determination, both during her years with Rev. King and the years following his death, the Rev. Safiyah Fosua writes of Mrs. King, "She answered a hard call at a high price."
"I hope she will be remembered not only as the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” writes Garlinda Burton, but “as a woman of courage and vision, passion and…witness in her own right. She wasn't just the woman behind the man; she was a solider for peace and justice in her own right."
Mrs. King suffered a heart attack and stroke last summer and had been recuperating at her home in Atlanta.
As you remember today-and in the days to follow-the King family and all who morn Mrs. King’s death, let me share with you this prayer, penned earlier today by the Rev. Fosua:
O Lord.
The saints are marching in
Martin and Rosa
…now Coretta.
Who will stand in her place before you
willing to give up her own dream
of a home in the suburbs
and undisturbed summer nights
without death threats
and anonymous haters on the phone?
Who will take his place before you
ready to struggle for your dream
of a day when all of humanity loves like family
and none are set-aside for slave or lackey?
Now that the saints have begun to march in
will we be overcome with nostalgia
over days gone by?
Or will we continue to go forward?
On this day, when the bell tolls for Coretta Scott King,
we give you thanks that there was once a woman
who heard a word from you while kneeling alongside the man she loved.
We [were blessed to share] space with a woman who continued to carry out your vision
even after it claimed her husband.
We felt the presence of an elegant woman who stood for God
with the prophetic mantle draped around her shoulders.
Lord, may memories of
Coretta's life and Martin's life
trigger a renaissance of care, concern, and continued action
for the least of these
who continue to live among us.
Amen.