Derrick A. Scott, Gleaner Writer
Left: Mrs. Coretta Scott King is seen arriving at the National Arena on the evening of December 11, 1968 to receive the Marcus Garvey Prize that was awarded posthumously to her husband, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Escorting Mrs. King is the Prime Minister, the Hon. Hugh Shearer, and behind them is the Hon. Hector Wynter, chairman of the Jamaica Committee on Human Rights, which made the selection.
Right: Senator the Hon. Hector Wynter, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and chairman of the Organising Committee for Human Rights Year, bidding goodbye to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of the American civil rights leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at Palisadoes Airport (now known as the Norman Manley Airport) in 1968. Mrs. King was returning home after receiving on behalf of her late husband, the Marcus Garvey Prize for Human Rights, which was awarded posthumously to him. - FILE PHOTOS
ATLANTA, GA.:
CIVIL RIGHTS mecca Atlanta, Georgia, is in mourning today as it grieves the loss of one of the key figures in the United States civil rights movement. Coretta Scott King, widow of the world's most famous civil rights leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mrs. King died early yesterday morning at age 78, in Mexico. Flags at the King Center for Non-violent Social Change, located in downtown Atlanta, have been flying at half staff since 7:00 a.m. and a sombre mood pervades the city.
In breaking the news to the public, former Atlanta mayor and United Nations Ambassador, Andrew Young, a close family friend, said he spoke with Mrs. King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III at about five o'clock yesterday morning, who confirmed that his mother had indeed "slept away."
RECOUNTING
In recounting the details of the passing of this icon, Ambassador Young said that Mrs. King's daughter, Bernice, had gone to check on her earlier in the night and thought her mother was resting well and let her alone.
"But, an hour later she went back and then realised that she had really slept away."
"I'm enough of a Christian not to see this as a tragedy," Young said, "but just as a normal passage that all of us will hopefully make one day.
She had many more bitter experiences with racists than her husband had, Young said as he recounted Mrs. King's life in rural Alabama, where she saw two of her father's businesses burned down by racists. According to Ambassador Young, that led to the depth and permanence of her commitment to the movement.
Civil rights activist, Rev. Joseph Lowery said Mrs. King honoured her husband's memory while forging a niche for herself as well as a person.
"She is Mrs. Martin Luther King, but she is also Coretta Scott King, a woman of grace, and dignity and wisdom and commitment to the movement," Lowery said.
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