As the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King dedicated her life to following her husband’s ideology of having an equal world. Even though she was consistently tied to his campaign, she had her own ideas of making the world a more equal place. There are a variety of phenomenal accomplishments that are attributed to her.
1. Mediation and Peace and Justice Liaison
One of the most well known jobs that Coretta Scott King had, aside from assisting her husband with his movement, was being a mediator and liaison for peace and justice organizations around the world. She helped to bring the idea of equality to developing nations such as Ghana, which was large part of how the country obtained their independence in 1957. She was also a part of a pilgrimage in India in 1959.
2. Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, following the assassination of her husband, Coretta Scott King established the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The idea for this foundation was as a result of the thousands of violent protests that ensued after her husband’s death. She reigned as the CEO and developed a large complex in the 80’s in the birthplace of her husband. She also developed a museum to keep the memory of their work alive throughout the coming years.
3. Commenting on Social Issues
One of the main concerns that Coretta Scott King had was that she didn’t just want to be known as the wife of one of the world’s most influential leaders. She continued to comment on prevalent social issues throughout the years, eventually becoming a regular commentator that you would see on CNN. She was also a renowned writer, developing stores in regards to her opinion on various social issues around the world.
4. Martin Luther King Day
She certainly did not take the work that her and her husband did lightly and decided that in his memory there should be a holiday dedicated to his legacy. There was a 15-year struggle for her to implement what we now know as “Martin Luther King Day”. By 1983 Ronald Reagan had agreed to make the birthday of Martin Luther King a national holiday in hopes that their fight for equality of all people would be remembered for all of the years to come.