Coretta Scott King

Biography

Coretta Scott King was a pioneering civil rights leader and advocate for African-American equality, who, following her husband Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, took on leadership of the struggle for racial equality herself. She founded the King Center and successfully campaigned for Martin Luther King Jr., Day to be established as a national holiday in 1983. A skilled singer and activist, King also expanded her advocacy to include LGBTQ rights and anti-apartheid efforts.