José E. Serrano: “I rise today to bid a last farewell to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a woman of great character and conviction who worked…”

“I rise today to bid a last farewell to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a woman of great character and conviction who worked tirelessly to make the dream of her husband a reality. Although we know her as the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that label is far too small to encompass the life of this remarkable woman. Born April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama, to Bernice McMurry Scott and Obeadiah Scott, Coretta was an accomplished student, graduating at the top of her high school class while becoming an exceptional musician. Although her parents worked hard to ensure that she was protected from the hardships of the segregated South, she was very aware of the fact that she and all blacks were deprived of many rights. In her 1969 autobiography, ``My Life With Martin Luther King Jr.'' Coretta stated: ``From the first, I had been determined to get ahead, not just for myself, but to do something for my people and for all people.'' Little did she know that fate would have her help shape the mind of a world leader. She met a young King in Boston while he was a student at Boston University and she a student at the New England Conservatory. After receiving her degree in voice and violin, the young couple moved to Montgomery, Alabama. Fifteen months later on December 1, 1955, a woman by the name of Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a city bus . . . and the rest is history.…”