Coretta Scott King has died. She is always spoken of in the news as “Widow of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”, as if that clause were a part of her name. It seems that before she can speak or be spoken of, the shadow of the man whose death threw her into the spotlight must be invoked. But this woman was a power and a presence in her own right, and deserves to be spoken of as such. She may, like so many women of that era, have remained quietly in her husband’s shadow while he was living, but she did not stay there. She stepped out into the public eye and made her own place, her own light. She did it in her husband’s name and memory, but in her own way and with her own agenda and priorities.
I have to wonder what would have become of the civil rights movement but for her. There were other leaders, others who spoke out against social and political injustices or who called on African-Americans to be proud of what they were, proud of their heritage. They are remembered, now, by historians. Their names are taught to grade school children, but they quickly blur into a general sense of that era, silent icons who are forgotten as individuals by most. Rev. King is remembered specifically, though. His speeches are still read; he has a national holiday of his own. The only other individuals so honored are Washington and Lincoln, both presidents. King was never president; that makes the mark he left all the more amazing. But it’s her victory that he is so remembered, that his influence is so vivid and vibrant. She kept his memory and his causes in the public eye. It was she who would not let those in power slip back into their old indifference unregarded. It’s been 38 years since he was murdered. Not that there isn’t still a deal to do; this is scarcely a race-unconscious society. But a tremendous amount has been done in his name over that time, and much of it has been encouraged, orchestrated, pushed by her. So the woman who has died was not only “the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” She deserves to be remembered in her own right. She was Coretta Scott King.