Coretta Scott King, 1927-2006
Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., dead at age 78. She'd suffered a stroke and heart attack in August. Her daughter was unable to wake her early this morning at a holistic center in Mexico. The Associated Press wrote that she "turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality."
Born and raised in Marion, Ala, high school valedictorian, graduate of Antioch College and the New England Conservatory of Music, committed to mothering and the movement, she was far more than the wife of the Rev. King, writes Facing South:
although she worked tirelessly to ensure his legacy was remembered, including battling the unconstructed Southerners like Trent Lott, who opposed the King holiday.
She was an activist in her own right -- and she didn't shy away from the "wedge" issues that the right tries to divide people over.
The blog, from the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham, N.C., writes how she spoke out for gay rights, and quotes a post from Pam Spaulding, who notes the passing of Mrs. King by quoting from her 2000 speech at an Atlanta conference organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.
Coretta Scott King spoke out against the death penalty, saying As one whose husband and mother-in-law have died the victims of murder assassination, I stand firmly and unequivocally opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses. An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by a legalized murder.
Resist media's blog simply posts the elegant photo above and the quotation:
The value of life in our cities has become as cheap as the price of a gun.
"All of our civil rights leaders are dying," writes this LiveJournal blogger. "I don't know if this is a time to rejoice that we are past the era when civil rights were so grossly defied, or to mourn the death of a movement that has not come to its goal. I just want to snuggle on a couch and watch A Patch of Blue and possibly cry for the past or the present."
And from Popfiendish, finally:
Remember the dream.
I just want to say to the family of Mrs. King God has her as well as Dr. King now and they are both with God shining down and watching the rest of us trying to make it to meet God-Jesus in the air. May God Bless You and let us all celebrate of a beautiful strong God fearing life that Mrs Corretta King has devoted her entire life to God and to her husbands legacy, as well as let us celebrate and support her legacy that she left in this world for us to follow and to lead in this generation. May God Bless You with Love, Peace, and Joy! Chris Nelson of Morton Delaware County Pa.
Coretta Scott King lived her life with love, courage and dignity. The world is a better place after having lived in it. She was truly an angel among us. God smiled upon us when he gave her to us and is smiling now that he has her back in His presence. May God comfort the King family in their time of loss and bless them for all that they have done. Lloyd Clements, Jr. Tuskegee Syphilis Study descendant
Hillary Clinton was on Wal-Mart's board of directors WARD HARKAVY, VILLAGE VOICE, 2000 - Twice in three days last week, Hillary Rodham Clinton basked in the adulation of cheering union members. Her record of supporting collective bargaining, however, is considerably worse than wobbly. Pity the thousands of unionists at last Tuesday's state Democratic convention who chanted her name, and the hundreds of retired Teamsters at Thursday's luncheon in midtown who had interrupted their Founder's Day meal to hear the corporate litigator turned union-loving Democrat deliver a campaign speech. They would have dropped their forks if they had heard that Hillary served for six years on the board of the dreaded Wal-Mart, a union-busting behemoth. If they had learned the details of her friendship with Wal-Mart, they might have lost their lunches. . . In 1986, when Hillary was first lady of Arkansas, she was put on the board of Wal-Mart. Officials at the time said she wasn't filling a vacancy. In May 1992, as Hubby's presidential campaign heated up, she resigned from the board of Wal-Mart. Company officials said at the time that they weren't going to fill her vacancy. So what the hell was she doing on the Wal-Mart board? According to press accounts at the time, she was a show horse at the company's annual meetings when founder Sam Walton bused in cheering throngs to celebrate his non-union empire, which is headquartered in Arkansas, one of the country's poorest states. According to published reports, she was placed in charge of the company's "green" program to protect the environment. But nobody got greener than Sam Walton and his family. For several years in the '80s, he was judged the richest man in America by Forbes magazine. . . Was Hillary the voice of conscience on the board for American and foreign workers? Contemporary accounts make no mention of that. They do describe her as a "corporate litigator" in those days, and they mention, speaking of environmental matters, that she also served on the board of Lafarge, a company that, according to a press account, once burned hazardous fuels to run its cement plants. . . The Clintons depended on Wal-Mart's largesse not only for Hillary's regular payments as a board member but for travel expenses on Wal-Mart planes and for heavy campaign contributions to Bill's campaigns there and nationally. . . Meanwhile, Wal-Mart's first lady, who also benefited from Wal-Mart stock, solicits support from union workers. Which makes her words to the elderly Teamsters last week especially poignant: "You can count on me to stand up for the right to collectively bargain!" Right on, sister!
Mr. and Mrs. King took the time and effort into trying and hoping they could make this world a more better place to live. 'Til this very day, they give us something that we will never forget......
aedi