Remembering Coretta Scott King

America has lost a strong and precious hero in the death of Coretta Scott King.
Any American of integrity and intellect would do well to read her memoir My Life with Martin Luther King Junior. It is an epic account of devotion and patriotism.

From countless instances of racist intimidation, including the bombing of their home, to powerful and moving chronicles of courage, compassion, and determination, Coretta Scott King wrote of the civil rights movement in America.

At a news conference at Ebenezer Baptist Church, on the Saturday following her husband’s death, Mrs. King made these comments about their lives:

"My husband often told the children that if a man had nothing worth dying for, then he was not fit to live. He knew that at any moment his physical life could be cut short, and we faced this possibility squarely and honestly. My husband faced the possibility of death without bitterness or hatred. He knew that this was a sick society, totally infested with racism and violence that questioned his integrity, maligned his motives, and distorted his views, which would ultimately lead to his death. And he struggled with every ounce of his energy to save that society from itself."

A pessimist would say we will never again have anyone like Martin Luther King, never have anyone with the dignity and courage of Coretta Scott King. The new, corporate-owned media would rage against such brazen anti-establishment actions as those two championed. In the interest of cashing in on conflict , TV would cheapen the debate with endless attacks by talking heads.

The pessimists would say that in our world, organized political jingles will now forever drown out individual voices of liberation. The pessimists, however, underestimate the power of inspiration, underestimate the influence of quiet fortitude, underestimate the message of non-violence, underestimate the spirit of imagery, and underestimate the tenacity of the seed of possibility in a young mind.

As powerful and greedy influences work to create a growing and enormous chasm between the haves and have-nots of our world, as common working people are consumed by the effort of survival in this most complicated of times, models have been set in place for courageous, self sacrificing living, for future acts of societal redemption. Models have been set in place for an understanding of how even the meek and seemingly disempowered can change the public heart.

Perhaps even some of the youngest in our midst right now will rise someday to stimulate change, to oppose tyranny, to help us find our better selves. They may rise inspired by the model of someone we knew in life and they knew only in history books.

Coretta Scott King has inspired the present and will inspire our future. The memory of her life is a treasure of light in human souls throughout the world.

To end this tribute, here is one more quote from Mrs. King:

"But then I ask the question: How many men must die before we can really have a free and true and peaceful society? How long will it take? If we can catch the spirit, and the true meaning of this experience, I believe that this nation can be transformed into a society of love, of justice, peace and brotherhood."