Congress Mourns the Loss of Coretta Scott King

On January 31, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 362) honoring the life and accomplishments of Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. The resolution pays tribute to Mrs. King’s contributions as a leader in the struggle for civil rights and expresses condolences to the King family on her passing. The House approved a similar resolution (H. Res. 655) by voice vote on February 1.

Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the resolutions contain a number of findings, including:

• Coretta Scott King was an inspirational figure and a woman of great strength, grace, and dignity who came to personify the ideals for which her husband fought;
• Just 4 days after the assassination of her husband in 1968, Mrs. King led a march of 50,000 people through the streets of Memphis and, later that year, took his place in the Poor People’s March to Washington;
• Mrs. King dedicated herself to developing and building the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as an enduring memorial to her husband’s life and their dream of nonviolent social change and full civil rights for all Americans and, as its founding President, Chair, and Chief Executive Officer, she guided the creation and housing of the largest archive of documents from the Civil Rights Movement;
• Mrs. King was instrumental in seeing that the birthday of her husband was honored as a federal holiday, an occasion first marked in 1986;
• Mrs. King traveled to every corner of the United States and the globe to speak out on behalf of a number of important issues, including racial and economic justice, the rights of women and children, religious freedom, full employment, health care, and education; and
• Coretta Scott King was a civil rights icon and one of the most influential African Americans in history.Admiring Mrs. King’s lifelong commitment to social justice and peace, Sen. Frist stated, “In 15 years of marriage to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and nearly four decades of tireless advocacy after his assassination, Mrs. King proved herself a strong and tireless voice for the principle of human equality. At her husband’s side through good times and bad, she played a major role in speaking out against the injustice and evils of State-mandated discrimination and private bigotry.”

  Calling her “an extraordinarily gracious woman,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) recounted a personal story of Mrs. King: “I had the great honor of knowing Mrs. King, and the occasion to visit with her in Atlanta last year…We sat and chatted in her living room. She showed me an album of photographs of her, Dr. King and the children. Then she told me what her husband had said to her once, at a time when she was feeling burdened, understandably, by all the stress and strain that had been placed on the family as a consequence of his role in the civil rights movement. She said her husband advised, ‘When you are willing to make sacrifices for a great cause, you will never be alone. Because you will have divine companionship and the support of good people.’

  “She truly was a remarkable woman,” said Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH) of Mrs. King. “She deserves enormous credit for carrying on the legacy of Dr. King and taking this message to America. I just have to say that she did this with great humility, with great understanding, and great ability to persuade those that she came in contact with, with groups and leaders across the Nation, of the importance of the King message.”

  Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) extended her condolences to the King family, saying, “We will always remember her, and we will always know that because of her, Martin Luther King was able to do what he was able to do; because of her, her children are doing what they are able to do; because of her, many of us are able to see things a little bit differently and honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and support nonviolence.”