THE CAPITAL TIMES
Civil rights advocate Loretta Scott King dies at 78
By DIANE KENNEY
Guest Reporter
DMK29S@PSU EDU
People often say behind every
great man there is a greater
woman. That's easy enough to
say, but can you stand behind it?
One extraordinary woman had
the capability to back this up. Now
I'm sure women such as Eleanor
Roosevelt and her work with the
poverty stricken come to mind;
maybe even a woman like Abigail
Adams, and her contributions to
women's rights.
Both these women were amazing
and their work is and should be
appreciated. This article, however,
will be dedicated to the life and
times of the one, the only Coretta
Scott King.
Mrs. King was born on April 27,
1927, in Perry County, Ala. At an
early age she was exposed to the
segregation of southern society.
Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died on Jan. 31 at age 78
A King's Queen
She was forced to walk five
miles every day to a one-room
schoolhouse, while white students
had the leisure of riding a bus.
While attending college at
Antioch College in Yellow
Springs, Ohio she took an interest
in the civil rights movement
and became a member of the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) as well as the college's
Race Relations and Civil
Liberties Committees.
After graduating college with
a bachelor's degree in music
and education, she received a
scholarship to attend the New
England Conservatory of music
in Boston, Mass. It was in Boston
that Mrs. King met the man that
profoundly changed her life.
A young Martin Luther King
Jr. was studying theology when
they met. It was 1953 when they
married and, a year later, they
February 6, 2006
moved to Montgomery, Ala. where
King accepted a position as a
minister at a Baptist church. Soon
after moving home to Alabama,
trouble arose.
It was Rosa Park's refusal to
give up her bus seat that triggered
the civil rights movement. While
under the leadership of King
Jr., with his wife at his side,
the boycott of the public buses
arrived in Montgomery, Ala.
As a result of the boycott, the
court decided to stop segregation
on all public transportation.
It was because of the Kings'
non-violent civil disobedience
that made them the most
recognizable faces of the civil
rights movement.
After the success in Montgomery
the Kings were asked to lead
marches, city after city.
Though the Kings could be
viewed as successful in their
efforts to stop segregation, not
everyone agreed.
In 1956, a white
supremacist
bombed their
home. Martin
Luther King was
not there, and
Coretta Scott
King barely
escaped, without
injury, with
the couples'
first child.
To help support
her husband's
activist work,
Mrs. King
performed
a series of
freedom concerts
combining
poetry, narration,
to tell the
Rights Movement.
Mrs. King did this as fundraising
for her husband and The Southern
Christian Leadership Conference,
an organization that he founded.
Mrs. King became increasingly
well known and called-for as a
public speaker.
She was the first woman to
speak at the Class Day Address
at Harvard, and the first
woman to preach at a statutory
service at St. Paul's Cathedral
in London.ln 1968, King
Jr., was assassinated in
Memphis Tennessee.
Mrs. King became dedicated
to living out his dreams and
continuing to fulfill his work.
She started the Martin Luther
King Jr. Center for Nonviolence
Social Change.
Mrs. King spent years
fundraising and lobbying.
She continued to serve the
cause of justice and human
rights throughout the world.
Her travels took her on
goodwill missions to Africa,
Latin America, Europe, and
Asia.
Mrs. King led a successful
campaign to have Jan. 15
celebrated as a national holiday
in remembrance of her husband.
The first observance of the
holiday took place in 1986
and is now celebrated in over
100 countries.
As many might have noticed
here on campus the flag
has been at half-mast as we
celebrate the life and times of
Coretta Scott King. Mrs. King
passed away on Jan.3l, 2006,
at the age of 78 but she will
remain an inspirational figure
to many men and women across
the world.
MUSIC
of the Civil
IDOL: Students
take the stage
Sean Stanton and Erica Cook entertained the crowd with their rendi
tion of Shake It Off by Mariah Carey.
Continued from page 1
Mike Edwards and Dave Salberg
put on an entertaining performance
of "Believer," famously known
from the movie Shrek. "You made
a believer out of me," said Horton.
Augie Bravo and Erin Moskalczak
put on an entertaining performance
of "Barbie Girl." Brown-Haywood
said, "My interpretation is still in
my imagination."
Some performers like Andrew
"Dickie" Scott sang twice. He sang
"Kryptonite" and then a few songs
later "Pretty Fly for a White Guy"
where Duffy said, "Better than your
first performance."
"Unfortunately, it was obvious
that singing talent at Penn State
Harrisburg is few and far between,"
said Dougherty.
Yet those who did seem to have
singing ability knew that when
they got standing ovations. Brooke
Messmer sang "The Power of Love"
and Jennifer Colna with "Hopelessly
Devoted," earned high praise and
compliments from all in attendance.
The performer who stood out the
most was. Victor Rodriguez, the only
performer who did not use karaoke
to for accompaniment but his guitar.
As the night went on, time started
to run out and the judges' comments
were subsided. The last entertainers
of the night with "Baby Got Back"
were Danielle and LaToya. "It got way
better at the end," said Curtis Munoz,
junior. "They saved the best for last."
Once all was "sung" and done,
Rodriguez came out on top and was
named Penn State Idol. The dynamic
duo of Edwards and Salberg came
in second.
All three were given a $5O gift
certificate to Damon's Bar & Grill.
Jeff Howland who sang "All or
Nothing" came in third, winning a
$25 gift certificate to Home Depot.
O'Holla came in fourth winning
a Middletown Pool pass. Overall,
Penn State Idol was a huge success
for THON and as sophomore Katelyn
Fowler said, "a wonderful way to
bring everyone together."