[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN MEMORIAM OF CORETTA SCOTT KING

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of 
Coretta Scott King, who peacefully left this world on Monday, January 
30, 2006, at the age of 78.
  Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927, in Marion, AL, during 
a time of great social injustice. Despite the many barriers that 
society had placed in front of her, she refused to let hate and 
prejudice stand in the way of her dreams. She was valedictorian of her 
graduating class at Lincoln High School and went on to receive a B.A. 
in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH. She 
also earned a degree in voice and violin at Boston University's New 
England Conservatory of Music. It was during this time that she met 
Martin Luther King, Jr., who was then studying for his doctorate in 
systematic theology at Boston University. They married on June 18, 
1953, and began their lives together in Montgomery, AL.
  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began his civil rights work, Mrs. 
King worked closely with him by organizing marches and arranging sit-
ins at segregated restaurants to draw attention to the unfairness of 
Jim Crow laws. She also played a central role behind the scenes of many 
of the major civil rights campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s. She was by 
her husband's side when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and 
walked by his side during the infamous march from Selma to Montgomery 
in 1965 that eventually led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. 
Mrs. King also performed in ``Freedom Concerts'' where she would sing 
songs and read poetry to help raise money for the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference, the organization that Dr. King led during the 
civil rights movement.
  Following her husband's death on April 4, 1968, Mrs. King 
demonstrated remarkable strength and courage by continuing the struggle 
to bring equality to all Americans. She established the Atlanta-based 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living 
memorial to her husband and his dream of social equality. During the 
1980s, Mrs. King participated in a series of sit-in protests to 
highlight the inequality of South Africa's racial policies.
  Mrs. King also led the campaign to establish Dr. King's birthday as a 
national holiday. In 1983, Congress instituted the Martin Luther King, 
Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, which she chaired during its duration. 
And on January 20, 1986, the Nation celebrated the first Martin Luther 
King, Jr. Federal holiday.
  Mrs. King has received honorary doctorates from more than 60 colleges 
and universities, has authored three books and has served on, and 
helped found, dozens of organizations including the Black Leadership 
Forum, the National Black Coalition for Voter Participation, and the 
Black Leadership Roundtable.
  I rise today to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Mrs. 
Coretta Scott King. As wife, mother, social activist, musician, and 
author, she used her words and actions to spread the message of racial 
equality and justice throughout the world. I hope that her vision, as 
well as the vision of her late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
will continue to live on in all of us through our work and our 
deeds.

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