Coretta Scott King has passed

28 Comments

1. 

   DuctapeFatwa on January 31, 2006 at 7:32 am

   link

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     blueneck on January 31, 2006 at 7:44 am

     Thanks Ductape, for the up to the minute info.

     An ill wind blows today: first this, then the SOTU which will be a complete set of lies.

     Coretta Scott King, may she rest in peace, was many things to many people.  To me, she, like Myrlie Evers, survivor of Medgar Evers, was an exemplar of survivors of that era.  These women have done much to keep the dream alive.

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       DuctapeFatwa on January 31, 2006 at 8:23 am

       Coming so soon after the passing of Miss Rosa Parks, and yes, in the midst of current US domestic events – well, this has just happened and I have not collected my thoughts.

       You know, people do not think about this much, but Mrs. King was very young when Martin was murdered.

       At 39, she was suddenly left to raise four young children alone, in addition to the enormous mantle that was suddenly laid on her shoulders.

       Though she was certainly “active” in the Movement from the beginning, especially for a woman in that time and place, she had not expected to become such a symbol, such an involuntary leader of it, again, with four kids, and not yet forty.

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         AP on January 31, 2006 at 8:46 am

         The courage of the most magnificent Mrs. Coretta Scott King. I have been–and will forever be–in absolute awe of her. With everything–and I mean, everything–that she went through…really, it’s amazing. Bombing your house, assassinating your husband…this woman knew terrorism.

         I pray that her soul now knows peace.

         As for my own selfish thoughts…they are a jumble.

         I’m listening to Tavis Smiley (on the Tom Joyner Morning Show) and he makes a point–every last damned Democrat (OK, those are my words) will trip over themselves to issue press releases praising Mrs. King’s greatness, but all that she worked for is being trashed, and they couldn’t show any courage. Not even a little.

         (The Democrats) “They had one time, one chance and one vote–and they blew it.” –Tavis Smiley.

     • 

       supersoling on January 31, 2006 at 8:59 am

       An ill wind indeed.
       There is a message here and I have the feeling it’s not a good one. There is no balance in the world today and the passing of this extraordinary woman is a reminder of how far we’ve fallen away from the dream.

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         Militarytracy on January 31, 2006 at 9:41 am

         you about an ill wind and sense for foreboding and out of balance.  Also as a Buddhist though I know that this is a time of rebirth.  Certain qualities and loves will always manifest themselves, but we do have a changing of the guard as older bodies wear out and are replaced by those younger.  Even as our parents and grandparents pass on we subconsciously begin to embody the things that we loved about them and looked to them for.

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           joan reports on January 31, 2006 at 1:15 pm

           own big day has twice now crossed with the death

           of a civil rights icon, Coretta King and Rosa Parks (the day Bush nominated him to be next Chief Justice, Parks’ body was moved to the Capitol to lie in state.  Alito visited and paid tribute.)  My thoughts here.

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           AP on January 31, 2006 at 1:27 pm

           Oh, I know. And it disgusts me. The smug bastard. He can’t wait to bow in obeisance and undo decades of progress.

           Just foul. Evil.

         • 

           Militarytracy on January 31, 2006 at 9:11 pm

           the guy is going to be dealing with.  Sounds potentially bad for him in a really strange way.

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           Nanette on January 31, 2006 at 9:25 pm

           I was wondering too.

           It’s just a little too weird, the way it’s fallen into place. No matter what he does on the bench, he’ll always be bracketed by these two women, giants in their own way. Can’t be too comfortable for him, considering.

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           blksista on February 1, 2006 at 4:41 pm

           She was suffering from advanced ovarian cancer.  She went there along with her sister who lives in San Diego and with one of her daughters; I think this daughter is Yoli, the actress.

           She did not die in Atlanta, GA.

         • 

           DuctapeFatwa on February 1, 2006 at 4:45 pm

           who went in, I guess to check on her, and was unable to wake her up. My speculation is that either she was supposed to take a pill at midnight, or something just didn’t look right, maybe Bernice could not see movement indicating breathing, and so tried to wake her up.

           Incidentally, Bernice is the only one of the children who inherited her father’s preaching talent.

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           blksista on February 2, 2006 at 8:56 am

           with the religious reich on issues like homophobia, the downlow ‘problem,’ gays and AIDS.  She’s the one who promoted that march in Atlanta a couple of years ago.  I was disgusted with her.

           Watch for a couple of the kids to go full tilt into the dark side, as far as I am concerned, with the death of their mother, who tended to upbraid them privately and publicly on these and other issues on which they differed with her.

         • 

           DuctapeFatwa on February 2, 2006 at 9:11 am

           despite her gift, especially so because of her gift.

           Sadly none of the children have inherited their father’s unhakable commitment to the principles for which he was murdered, and maybe it is unrealistic to have expected such a thing. For all their mother tried, she could not give them normal lives.

           We tend to have such great expectations of the children of the larger-than-life, and it would take someone as exceptional as Dr. King was to “overcome” growing up in such a fishbowl, with such a heavy load of psychology-messing factors, including unrealistic expectations on the part of people like me 🙂

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           blksista on February 2, 2006 at 11:33 am

           to go into the activism business along the same lines as their father.

           But they appeared to be flogging their father for all he was worth in ducats.  And that was something that I could not abide.  I thought this was foul.  Remember that commercial they made of him digitized at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington?  That is such an example.  

           Do they do anything else other than just be Martin’s children and make occasional speeches?  From what I understand, they don’t even have children of their own who would have been Martin’s and Coretta’s grandchildren.  I’ve also heard rumors of ‘outside children’ by Dexter and Martin III.

           It really is a shame and a painful thing to observe.  I don’t have to talk about Malcolm’s daughters and of Malcolm who actually burned his grandmother–Betty Shabazz–up.

           Really sad.

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           DuctapeFatwa on February 2, 2006 at 2:45 pm

           at least be able to keep the King Center going. But sadly, when I think of the King Center, I think of the Chavez Foundation, same story, father a hero for the ages, kids love swimmin pools and movie stars. Now out of close to half a million farm workers, maybe 3000 are in the union, which does next to nothing for them, and conditions in the fields have reverted to pre-Chavez conditions. The Foundation dabbles in this and that but almost nothing to do with the farm workers. They do, however, make bushels of money.

           Back to the Kings, Yoki has done a bit of acting, with stress on the bit, and Bernice does have a church where she preaches. Both the boys have had mostly ceremonial legacy jobs, and as you say, the rest of their time appears to be spent being the King children.

           On a more positive note, Elizabeth Omilani has picked up her father’s plowshare and from all I can tell, is walking the walk. Hosea, from up in heaven, I imagine, is quite pleased. 🙂

   • 

     Street Kid on January 31, 2006 at 4:31 pm

     just said a prayer for her soul.

2. 

   AndiF on January 31, 2006 at 8:25 am

   She was a true hero who held true to her principles all her life and provided a tremendous role model to all the rest of us.

3. 

   canberra boy on January 31, 2006 at 8:36 am

   Thank you for alerting us to this sad news, Ductape.

   Please pardon me for a lengthy quote, rather than just a link, but I was intrigued to see that the ABC News obituary was remarkably sympathetic and included several interesting points:

   Family Blazed Trails

   Coretta Scott was born April 27, 1927, on a farm in Heiberger, Ala. Though the family owned the land, it was often a hardscrabble life. The young Coretta, her sister, Edythe, and brother, Obie, all had to pick cotton during the Depression to help the family make ends meet.

   The Scott family was resourceful and blazed trails for blacks in its small corner of the world. Her father, Obediah, was the first black person in the area to own a truck, and he eventually opened a country store. Her mother, Bernice, hired a bus to drive all the black children to and from Lincoln High School — nine miles from Heiberger.

   An intelligent and hardworking student, Scott King played trumpet and piano, and graduated from Lincoln High at the top of her class in 1945. She followed her older sister to Antioch College in Ohio, where Edythe had been the first full-time black student to live on campus.

   At Antioch, Scott King majored in music and education. When she graduated, she decided she wanted to pursue music instead of teaching. She received a scholarship to study violin and voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she met her future husband, Martin Luther King Jr., who was studying theology at Boston University.

   The Kings were married in 1953, and the following year, they moved to Montgomery, Ala., where King began his ministry.

   Civil Rights Activists

   Scott King spent much of her life devoted to raising their four children — Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine — and to supporting her husband’s work in the civil rights movement.

   Scott King was often seen beside her husband during freedom marches, traveling abroad and giving speeches. Though she had essentially retired from her music career, she conceived of and performed in the Freedom Concerts, which combined the poetry, stories and music of the civil rights movement.

   Scott King became an activist in her own right, as well, carrying messages of international peace and economic justice to organizations around the world. She was the first woman to deliver the Class Day address at Harvard University and the first woman to preach during a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

   When King was assassinated outside a motel room in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, Scott King channeled her grief into action. Days later, she led a march through the streets of Memphis, and later that year took his place as a leader of the Poor People’s March in Washington, D.C.

   Scott King continued working for equality, peace and economic justice for the remainder of her life, both in the United States and abroad. Her travels took her to Latin America to speak out against poverty, South Africa to fight apartheid, and back to Washington, D.C., to mark the 20th anniversary of the historic March on Washington with a second massive gathering of human rights groups.

   Honoring Martin

   Scott King also devoted much of her time to developing the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a memorial to her husband’s life and dreams. Scott King served as the center’s leader until 1995, when she turned over the helm to her son Dexter.

   She also led the campaign to make King’s birthday, Jan. 15, a national holiday in the United States. By an Act of Congress, the first national observance of the holiday took place in 1986.

   Scott King focused much of her energy during the last decade of her life on AIDS awareness and curbing gun violence.

   We will remember her.

4. 

   katiebird on January 31, 2006 at 8:39 am

   I’m so sorry about this.  I was just working on the page at our website for book awards – the Coretta Scott King Awards were just announced for this year.  And I wondered how she was doing.

   The Coretta Scott King Award honors African American authors and illustrators for outstanding contributions to children’s and young adult literature that promote understanding and appreciation of the culture and contribution of all people to the realization of the American Dream.

   Here are links to the title lists:
   Coretta Scott King Winners &
   Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winners

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     canberra boy on January 31, 2006 at 8:52 am

     There appears to be something wrong with the links, katiebird, which point to non-existent pages on the BT site.  I take it you were referring to the Coretta Scott King Awards at the ALA site.

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       katiebird on January 31, 2006 at 8:59 am

       I am VERY sorry — These lists point to a library site & I didn’t get the full link.

       Coretta Scott King Winners &

       Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winners

       I think it’s harder to find all the years at the ALA Site (but they do have more complete information): Coretta Scott King Award Page

5. 

   refinish69 on January 31, 2006 at 9:36 am

   May she find joy in Heaven with Martin.  The World mourns the loss of a Great Lady.  She believed in Equality for All and was not afraid to stand on the front line.

   

6. 

   susanw on January 31, 2006 at 6:37 pm

   Another living link to the times when we marched with our arms around each other and sang about over coming and not being afraid, has broken.  I will always remember her dignity and courage.

7. 

   BrendaStewart on January 31, 2006 at 6:50 pm

   I am so sorry to hear about Mrs. King’s death.  It comes as a part of her husbands legacy.  I wish her family the best.  My sympathy for the world for such a loss of such great ppl. and of course the things she had to put with from the very government that put her and her family at such risk.  May she rest in peace with Mr. King and all the rest of those great Americans.

8. 

   blksista on January 31, 2006 at 10:31 pm

   and class will tell all the time.  Class ain’t just how much you make, but how you treat other people and how you expect to be treated.

   Both women fought back in a way that says a lot, and in a manner that is largely forgotten.  It wasn’t always what they said, but what they did.

   You can do a lot of loud talking and still not do a damn.

   Rest in peace, Coretta.  Come back to us again.

9. 

   DuctapeFatwa on February 2, 2006 at 10:45 pm

   Coretta Scott King will lie in repose Saturday in the rotunda of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, and funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, according to a statement issued Thursday by the King family.

   The public viewing at the Capitol for King, the widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., will be from noon to 8 p.m. ET, the statement said.

   On Monday, King’s body will be in public view at the original Ebenezer Baptist Church’s Heritage Sanctuary from 10 a.m. to midnight.

   A memorial musical celebration will be held from noon until 1 p.m. across the street at the church’s Horizon Sanctuary.

   She was a member of the church, the family said, and her husband co-pastored there with his father from 1960 until his assassination eight years later.

   On Tuesday morning, a third public viewing will be held at New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia.

   New Birth is the state’s largest black church, with 25,000 members and a cathedral that seats 10,000. The Kings’ youngest daughter, Bernice, an ordained minister, is a member there.

   A “Home Going Celebration” is planned for Tuesday afternoon at New Birth, the statement said…

   The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Coretta Scott King Scholarship Fund at her alma mater, Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. (Antioch College)

   Thursday’s statement included no information on King’s burial. Her husband lies in a crypt at the King Center, near Ebenezer in Atlanta…

   Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue made the offer for Mrs. King’s body to lie in repose at the Capitol rotunda in Atlanta. He also ordered flags at all state buildings to be flown at half-staff until her funeral…

   nerdified link

10. 

    DuctapeFatwa on February 3, 2006 at 3:06 pm

    The Mexican hospital where Coretta Scott King spent her last hours has been closed, a U.S. Embassy official in Mexico City confirmed this morning.

    The Santa Monica Health Institute, 16 miles south of San Diego in Rosarito, was closed by Mexican authorities, Judith Bryan, a spokeswoman for the embassy said in a telephone interview. U.S. consular officials were helping relocate American patients, she said.

    No reason for the closure was immediately available.

    A person reached at the facility’s phone number in San Diego said no one would be available to comment…

    nerdified link