Coretta Scott King was born in Alabama in 1927. As a teen she earned a scholarship to Antioch college in Ohio, where she started her commitment to the Civil Rights movement as a member of the NAACP and the race relations committee.
Pursuing music and education as her major she earned a grant to study singing in Boston, where she met Martin Luther King Jr. The two were married in 1953, and they moved to Alabama where Dr. King became pastor of a church.
As her husband’s popularity grew, she continued right by his side. People recognize the contributions of Coretta Scott King and she spoke publicly for numerous events and causes. She became the first woman and Black woman to deliver the class day speech at Harvard in 1968.
When Dr. King died, Coretta Scott King continued the work of her husband and her passion to educate people all over the world about the Civil Rights movement. Coretta Scott King was a political organizer and she was one of the major contributors to ensuring that the Martin Luther King holiday was established.
