Coretta Scott King
by Whitney Halperin

When Martin Luther King died on April 4, 1968, did his death just suddenly became a national holiday? No, people had to fight to make it a holiday. But did this conflict stop it from being made a holiday, acknowledged in over a hundred countries and celebrated in the U.S.? No. Coretta Scott King, the late widow of Martin Luther King, was a driving force behind making this a holiday. She had already experienced racism and segregation, and she did not want to repeat the wrongs of the past. So with this yearly reminder of an amazing man who has forever changed the United States, we will not repeat this injustice. Until her death five years ago, Coretta Scott King was fighting to stop all forms of injustice such as racism, homophobia, and sexism. She worked for equality for all human beings.

All of her life Scott King experienced injustice and fought against it. As soon as she could, she started to fight them. The society that she grew up in was segregated based on color of skin. White kids rode in a bus to school while Scott King had to walk six miles. Also, as a young girl, her father’s lumber mill was burned down by racist neighbors, and she could do nothing. Soon after she was married, she was in Montgomery experiencing the racism. In 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus. Scott King and her husband Martin Luther King, joined the Montgomery bus boycott. And just eight years ago, those same black pastors who had supported the Civil Rights movement were criticizing her for fighting homophobia. Coretta Scott King saw all of this, and at first there was nothing she could do. But in the end, she found a way to fight all this hatred.

Coretta Scott King was active in the Civil Rights movement in many ways. As well as participating in the Montgomery Bus Boycott with her husband, she fought for desegregation. Scott King gave Freedom Concerts, using her musical background to help the cause. And if you’ve ever read The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 then maybe you have noticed the pyramid seal on the cover. It is the Coretta Scott King award, which honors outstanding African-American illustrators and authors whose books have told about the African-American experience. One of her most prominent achievements was helping to create the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This legislation made  major forms of discrimination against women and blacks illegal. Also, she was the first of four women to ever give a Harvard Class Day address. Then when her husband was assassinated, Scott King took over the head of the civil rights movement. While Martin Luther King mainly worked with racial discrimination, she fought for women’s rights, lesbian-gay rights, and world peace. Seven years ago when the same sex marriage ban was about to be passed, Scott King strongly criticized and fought against it. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change was founded by Scott King after Martin Luther King’s death, to honor him.

“I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neither life nor work would bring fulfillment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well-ordered home where Christian love is a reality,” said Martin Luther King. Michael Dyson, a biographer of Martin Luther King said,  “King was in constant conflict with his wife about her role. She wanted to become much more involved in the movement; he wanted her to stay home and raise their children.” These two quotes show how supportive and active Scott King was in the civil rights movement. Even though her husband wanted her to stay home and take care of the kids, Scott King never gave up. Coretta Scott King never backed down from being the wife of one of the most revered and hated men in her time. She never gave up, never backed down, and never lived in the shadow of her husband.

This woman is so much like her husband, and also so much more. Both have proven what Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And so that is why I light a candle. For love and light to drive out hate and darkness, and to honor Coretta Scott King, a great woman who has changed the world forever.