King, Coretta Scott (1927–2006)

Though she was well known as the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King became a human rights activist and leader of international stature in her own right in the decades following her husband's assassination in 1968. Most notably, she founded and served as the first president and CEO of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, led the more than 15-year-long campaign that established Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a U.S. national holiday, and played a prominent role in the Free South Africa movement. Scott King also stood for an expansive interpretation of her husband's legacy by emphasizing [Page 666]gender justice; supporting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights; lending her name to the Coretta Scott King Book Awards ...