Bernice King Praises Mother’s Devotion To Dr. King

Yolanda, and Martin was away speaking at a mass meeting concerning the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“My father said my mother had an amazing calm about her at that time,” said King.  When Coretta’s father, Obadiah Scott, came to get Coretta after the bombing, Coretta refused to go. “My mother looked at my grandfather and said, ‘daddy, I’ve got to stay here with Martin.'”

King’s notable preaching skills illuminated as she described how Coretta’s calm and steadfastness remained even in Dr. King’s death. “When he died, she could have been consumed in her grief,” said King.  “She could have been overwhelmed in her grief. In fact, she could have been consumed with bitterness and hatred. But no, this courageous woman, this dignified woman, this determined woman, this committed woman, this called and anointed woman decided that she would continue to champion the legacy and the work of Martin Luther King Jr., as she founded the King Center and told us that we need to study the principles, and the techniques and the philosophy of nonviolence. And so in some vain I say to people that Coretta Scott King is really the one who helped to raise a nation while also raising four kids at the same time. She was an awesome woman.”

King also recognized other women in the movement including Dorothy Cotton, who was a part of Dr. King’s executive staff; Doris Crenshaw, who worked with NAACP and Rosa Parks; and Cleo Orange, wife of the late James Orange, a “master organizer and mobilizer” for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

A rare glimpse into what went on in the inner circles of the women in the Civil Rights Movement came to light as King emphasized how those who followed her father were able to adhere to the principles of nonviolence in the face of racism.

“We had training going on behind the scenes. You see the marches and you see the water hoses. You see the demonstrations, but this was a movement that was filled with discipline and training and teaching and simulation,” said King.  “They didn’t just turn another cheek. They were doing it because they had it simulated, embodied and modeled by people who showed them how to turn the other cheek. So we thank God for the women who were teaching and training in the fields and in the churches.”

King drew applause when she spoke of Dr. King’s admission that Coretta taught him many things about civil rights. She said that Dr. King was once asked if he researched Coretta’s background before marrying her and educated her on his philosophies.

“And my father said, well it may have been the other way. I think at many points, she educated me. When I met her she was concerned with the same issues as I was…So I must admit I wish could say to satisfy my masculine ego that I led her down this path, but I must say we went down this path together. She was as actively involved and concerned when we met as she is now.”

King explained that Coretta, also known for her work in the peace movement, had taken a stance against the

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