Written By: Chiara Atoyebi
Photo in the Public Domain
“Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” -Coretta Scott King
January 15, 1929, marks the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Dr. King was a prominent civil rights leader, Baptist minister, activist, family man, and political philosopher who championed the equal rights of African Americans in the United States as well as the civil and humane rights, and treatment of all people. He is often famously quoted as saying “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere” offering keen insight into the interconnectedness of all human beings in our world.
He led marches and protests that shined a light on the civil rights infractions found in voting, desegregation, and labor rights to name a few. King named Mohandas Gandhi as one of the greatest influences and progenitor of his non-violent stance declaring, “Christ showed us the way and Gandhi in India showed it could work.”
Coretta Scott King was an equally impassioned activist in her own right, as well as a staunch supporter of her husband’s politics. During many of Dr. King’s marches, she was often found working right alongside her husband during the fight for civil rights. Many African American women who are in traditional marriages and relationships that support equal rights struggle to prioritize their creative endeavors. However, it is uniquely understood that the couple always worked in tandem as a unit, many times with the man in the forefront.
Photo In the Public Domain
However, Mrs. King was no voiceless shrinking violet. During her wedding, she asked the Baptist Minister to “obey” be removed from her wedding vows as a willful act of independence. After her husband’s death, she established the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and pursued her dream of singing which she had put on hold due to various circumstances.
Coretta Scott King, The Artist
In 1951 Coretta Scott King was admitted to the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with the dream of becoming a singer. Her former classmate, LaVerne Weston noted Coretta as “shy and aloof” and not the kind of person you could really get that close to.” It was later discovered that her busy work schedule and living off-campus and away from the other students mainly contributed to her demeanor and inability to socialize with the other tight-knit group of Black students. Before coming to the conservatory she had experienced racism in Antioch which made it hard for her to gain a teaching position in Ohio, and left her destitute. It wasn’t long after that she met Martin Luther King Jr. and her life would change forever.
“THE MEMORIAL CENTER WILL, LIKE MARTIN LUTHER KING, EMERGE PROUDLY OUT OF THE HEART OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA, BUT IT WILL ADDRESS THE EXPERIENCES OF ALL PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE BROKEN AND OPPRESSED, THOSE WHO DESPERATELY SEARCH FOR JUSTICE, LIBERATION AND PEACE.“
CORETTA SCOTT KING
FOUNDER’S STATEMENT, 1968
Looking Towards The Future In The Global Fight For Justice
In her 1956 “Salute to Montgomery” performance She also shared her dream of a new America where “freedom, justice, and equality shall become a reality for every man, woman, and child.” She was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and a mere two months after her husband’s death garnered the strength to speak out against the war calling on the president to “stop the bombing now.” Coretta based her politics and philosophy on her belief in God, which strengthened her non-violent approach to liberating marginalized people.
In life, death, and eternal legacy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King’s commitment to nonviolence forever changed the way we approach, view, and fight for justice around the world.
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