6 Ways Coretta Scott King Built Her Own Legacy

When asked in a 1965 interview if he taught his wife, Coretta Scott King, about topics like world peace, Martin Luther King Jr. replied, “I think at many points she educated me.”

Coretta Scott King was involved in activism long before she married the man who would become a key leader in the civil rights movement. During their 13-year marriage and after his assassination, she continued to fight for justice, opposing racism and war.

She upheld her husband’s legacy by advocating for a federal holiday in his honor and founding the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change to extend his efforts.

“She said, ‘I knew I would be Black for the rest of my life, so I could not back down or remain silent in the face of injustice,” says Barbara Reynolds, who along with Scott King, authored the activist’s posthumous 2017 memoir, My Life, My Love, My Legacy.

Scott King Faced Racism in Childhood

Coretta Scott King experienced racism early in her life. Born in Heiberger, Alabama, on April 27, 1927, her family owned land, which made them targets for white racists. These racists burned down their home and terrorized her father for refusing to sell his lumber mill, eventually setting fire to the business as well.

“The burning of her family home and the destruction of her father’s business had a profound impact on her views about justice and what was right,” explains Kristopher Burrell, an associate professor of history at Hostos Community College, part of the City University of New York, and author of the 2020 paper “I Was Called, Too: The Life and Work of Coretta Scott King.”

Scott King excelled academically, graduating at the top of her class from the segregated Lincoln Normal School in 1945. She then attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, an integrated institution where she studied music and elementary education. At Antioch, she joined the NAACP and college committees dedicated to racial equality.

Political Allegiance in the Progressive Party

In the 1948 presidential election, Coretta Scott King supported Henry Wallace, the Progressive Party candidate who advocated for anti-segregation policies, voting rights, equal pay, national health insurance, fair employment for women, and a guaranteed minimum wage.

However, her affiliation with the Progressive Party was a topic she rarely discussed later in life. Barbara Reynolds notes, “It was often said to be linked to communism, and she didn’t want Martin’s reputation to be tarnished by any association with the Progressive Party.”

Despite her achievements, Scott King faced racism even in the progressive environment of Antioch College. The college administrators were hesitant to integrate their student teaching program. While her white peers taught in local Yellow Springs public schools, she was assigned to a district nine miles away.

A scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music brought Scott King to Boston, where she met Martin Luther King Jr. in 1952. They married a year later and moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where King would become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

There, they both became key figures in the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, which sought to end segregated seating on city buses. While Martin Luther King Jr. became the face of the movement through his leadership of the Montgomery Improvement Association, Coretta Scott King was also deeply involved, contributing significantly to the civil rights cause

Undeterred Following MLK Home Bombing

In January 1956, while Coretta Scott King and their newborn daughter were inside, segregationists bombed the King home. Though physically unharmed, family members urged her to leave Montgomery. Displaying remarkable courage, she chose to stay.

“She said, ‘Well, you know I’m married to Martin, but I’m also married to the movement. I’m not leaving,’” recounts Barbara Reynolds.

On January 30, 1956, the 57th day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. was delivering a speech when he learned his home had been bombed. Despite this, he continued to lead the movement from the front, often speaking from his bombed home’s porch to address the community and media.

Throughout the Montgomery boycott, Coretta Scott King and other women played vital roles, managing day-to-day operations like child care, handling correspondence, answering phones, and organizing documents.

She also contributed intellectually, advising her husband on speeches and strategic planning. Kristopher Burrell notes, “Coretta Scott King was someone who Martin did consult, and even to a degree, rely upon for input and advice about strategic planning. She was an important thinker and strategist in her own right.”

Additionally, she leveraged her musical talents to support the civil rights cause by organizing “Freedom Concerts.” These performances, which mixed music with civil rights messaging, helped raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her husband co-founded.

Her decision to host these concerts was influenced by her earlier meeting with activist, actor, and singer Paul Robeson, underscoring the blend of art and activism in her approach.

Fighting injustice While Facing Chauvinism

Coretta Scott King faced pressure—even from her husband—to prioritize her role as a wife and mother over her aspirations as a civil rights leader. However, she was deeply committed to fighting social injustice, just as he was.

Her passion for activism began early, during her student years, when she met Bayard Rustin. Rustin, who later became a key advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., influenced him to fully embrace nonviolence.

Scott King was actively involved in peace movements, joining the Women’s Strike for Peace in Geneva in 1962 and participating in similar demonstrations in the following years. She also supported the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy and spoke out against the Vietnam War before her husband took a public stance on the issue.

Despite her dedication, she was excluded from a key moment in civil rights history—the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his iconic I Have a Dream speech. Though she wanted to march alongside him, she was not allowed.

“She wanted to march with him because she always did,” says Barbara Reynolds. “But he told her, ‘No, no. No wives can march.’ And they also decided that no woman could give a major speech. So, at this historic moment, she was told, ‘No, you can’t go.’”

Activism Continues After MLK Assassination

When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, Coretta Scott King refused to step away from activism. She carried on his work, leading a march for the city’s striking sanitation workers—an event her husband had planned to attend.

Just days later, she spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King had been a pastor. Weeks after his death, she took the stage at an anti-Vietnam War protest in New York City, making it clear she would continue his message of peace.

In May 1968, she joined the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, D.C., a movement King had started to fight poverty. On Mother’s Day, she led a group of women in a demonstration that lasted over a month, calling attention to unemployment and economic struggles.

Her growing activism led to FBI surveillance, just as it had for her husband. “Even after Martin’s assassination, that did not stop the government from watching the King family,” says historian Kristopher Burrell. “Because she kept fighting for causes like women’s rights, nuclear disarmament, and LGBTQ equality, the FBI saw her as a threat.”

In 1968, Scott King founded the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, leading it until she retired in 1995. The center became both a tribute to King’s work and a place to continue fighting for justice.

She also worked hard to preserve his writings and campaigned for a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., which was finally recognized in 1986. “It took years of hard work and political pressure,” Burrell says. “But what she did was essential in making sure Dr. King’s legacy was honored.”

A Global Leader for Human Rights

Scott King didn’t just focus on civil rights in the U.S.—she also fought against apartheid in South Africa. In the 1980s, she joined protests and pushed for economic penalties against the South African government.

The King Center trained 300,000 South Africans in nonviolence before the country’s first democratic election. In 1994, she was there to witness Nelson Mandela become South Africa’s first Black president.

She also strongly supported LGBTQ+ rights, speaking at events for groups like the Human Rights Campaign. “She gave a sermon saying that gay rights are human rights, which was very bold at the time,” says journalist Barbara Reynolds.

Scott King always stood for peace. She opposed the Gulf War in the 1990s and later spoke against the Iraq War, staying true to her lifelong belief in nonviolence.

After dedicating her life to justice, Coretta Scott King passed away in 2006 at age 78 from ovarian cancer. The next year, Antioch College opened the Coretta Scott King Center, focusing on human rights and social justice. Her legacy, like her husband’s, continues to inspire new generations.