Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “I rise to salute Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights pioneer and icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I join…”

“I rise to salute Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights pioneer and icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I join millions in this country and around the world who mourn her passing and celebrate her life. I extend my condolences and prayers to her children and family. Coretta Scott King was born in Marion, AL, on April 27, 1927. She grew up in segregated Alabama. Mrs. King went on to study music at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH, and later studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. It was in Boston, where she met Dr. King, who at the time was working on his doctorate in theology at Boston University. They married in 1953 and had four children, Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine. Coretta Scott King marched beside her husband in towns across the then segregated south. Mrs. King did not quietly slip out of public life. With dignity and courage, she chose to continue to work for justice, access, and equality. She advanced the message of social justice, peace, and mutual respect. Mrs. King started the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non Violence and Social Change out of the family home in Atlanta. The Center now houses the tomb of Dr. King and thousands of documents related to his work. Thousands of people each year visit the center, which sits in Atlanta's Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.…”