I remember when she spoke at my high school, years ago. Her voice will be missed in the public arena. posted by Faint of Butt at 6:46 AM on January 31, 2006
In one of the pleasing coincidences of life, my father shares a birthday with MLK Jr., and my mother with Coretta Scott King. The Kings were always kind of a presence in our house. My mother was able to meet her through her job, and keeps a framed picture of the two of them together on display.
Coretta Scott King has been critiqued for her close management of the King archives and estate. I would certainly like to see access opened up quite bit, but issues with the King Center, take nothing away from Mrs. King's stature as a civil rights leader in her own right. posted by Miko at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2006
With Alito on his way to the Supreme Court, this is especially bad news. posted by amberglow at 6:56 AM on January 31, 2006
amberglow, thanks for posting that.
"I think, on many points she educated me. When I met her she was very concerned about the things we are trying to do now. I never will forget the first discussion we had when we met was the whole question of racial injustice and economic injustice and the question of peace. In her college days, she had been actively engaged in movements dealing with these problems. I must admit---I wish I could say, to satisfy my masculine ego, that I led her down this path; but I must say we went down together, because she was as actively involved and concerned when we met as she is now."
-- MLK, 1967 posted by digaman at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2006
.
*salutes* posted by jonmc at 7:03 AM on January 31, 2006
If anyone wants to help kids understand her life and work, the list of books that have won Coretta Scott King Awards since 1970 might be a good place to start. posted by mediareport at 8:41 AM on January 31, 2006
I met her once, at a "Cousins Party" a neighboring family with a huge backyard held sometime in the late 70s or very early 80s... I must have been about five years old. The party was much like a family reunion, with music and barbecue and balloons for the kids, but anyone passing by would be invited and given a nametag which read "Hello my name is Cousin ____". My father strolled by to get an invitation, and then had my mother pass me to him over the back fence. He went back to collect my sister, and an older woman offered me a piece of cake and had me sit next to her until my father returned.
Next thing I knew we suddenly had a TV camera trained on us, and the lady was telling the small crowd that had assembled that it "didn't matter if you were black or white or green or purple", that we were all cousins in the human race. "Right?", she asked me, and I cheerfully agreed, the thought of green or purple people amusing my five-year-old mind greatly. She laughed and pulled me onto her lap, and continued to discuss things that I didn't quite understand as I ate my cake. My father looked on smiling broadly.
Hours later as my father carried me home, he asked me "Do you know who that was you were speaking to? That was Coretta Scott King!" I was too young to understand everything, but he tried to explain to me who Martin Luther King was. And then he had to explain what the civil rights movement was. And then he had to explain what segregation was, and what racism was.
It was several years later before I realized the Cousins Party was about race relations, and not just an excuse to have a party. posted by Soliloquy at 12:23 PM on January 31, 2006
I had occasion to get to know her in the 80's when she and my mother were working together. She was very nice to me, when all the other adults around me were far to busy to notice my existence.
This is a small thing, compared to the overall impact of her life, but it's the thing I'll remember most clearly, and with a lot of personal gratitude. I'll miss you, Mrs. King. posted by Fenriss at 12:57 PM on January 31, 2006
"Corey Scott" and her sister, Edyth, were college friends and dorm-mates of my mother at Antioch College (Yellow Springs, OH). posted by ericb at 1:16 PM on January 31, 2006
One story I always liked was the fact that she wore a blue wedding gown and refused to say "obey" in her vows. posted by ericb at 2:16 PM on January 31, 2006
Antioch College (Yellow Springs, OH)
Used to work at Antioch, and I still live in Yellow Springs. I was thinking about her walking around the same streets I walk, and down the same halls I have walked today. posted by eustacescrubb at 2:56 PM on January 31, 2006
Thanks amberglow for that reminder. Ah, two reminders.
Well damn./
I never worked for Ms. King.
I can say I'm a 'Cousin', of sorts.
Soliloquy What a wonderful story./ Thanks for letting us in. psssst, what kind of cake was it? Just trying to imagine being 5 years old. Cool.
and Fenriss Ditto for you too. Such a small world and the people she reached.
And ericb, I agree, too cool on both counts.
What a powerful couple, who did so much to promote that man, is man.
]yes, that be whether man or woman[
posted by anomie at 6:41 AM on January 31, 2006