The goal of#SeeHer Story, adigital video series fromKatie CouricMedia and PEOPLE, is to recognize female trailblazers throughout the past 100 years and celebrate how they’ve helped to shape history and culture.
Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta Scott King pose for a portrait in 1964.Library of Congress
She knew she wanted to make a difference — Coretta studied political activism at Antioch University and music at a conservatory in Boston. While earning her degree, Coretta met and quickly connected with a theology student, Martin Luther King, Jr.
The two bonded over Gandhi’s example of nonviolent protests and wed in 1953.
Coretta and Martin made a home for themselves in Montgomery, Alabama where Martin worked as a reverend.
Bob Parent/Hulton Archive/Getty
“We found ourselves in the middle of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin was elected leader of the protest movement. As the boycott continued, I had a growing sense that I was involved in something so much greater than myself,” Coretta said in the video.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Martin was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 — but Coretta didn’t let her passion for activism die with him.
“The world is in dire need of a spiritual awakening which will make those eternal values of love, justice, mercy and peace meaningful in our time,” Coretta said in the clip.
She continued working in the world of advocacy, founding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center and working on causes including nuclear disarmament, anti-apartheid and gay and lesbian rights.
Allison Silberberg/Getty
In 1983, President Reagan signed legislation to create a holiday in Martin’s honor, with the tremendous help of Coretta.
Since Coretta’s passing in 2006 at 78 years old, her daughterDr. Bernice King, has carried on her legacy as the CEO of her mother’s foundation.
source: people.com
