Coretta Scott King

== Later life ==
[[File:Coretta Scott King at the Democratic National Convention, New York City.jpg|thumb|King attending the [[1976 Democratic National Convention]]]]
<!---[[File:Coretta scott king ebenezer.jpg|thumb|King, along with [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Andrew Young]], [[Jimmy Carter]], and other civil rights leaders during a visit to [[Ebenezer Baptist Church]] in [[Atlanta]], January 14, 1979]]--->

Every year after the assassination of her husband in 1968, Coretta attended a commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to mark his birthday on January 15. She fought for years to make it a national holiday. In 1972, she said that there should be at least one national holiday a year in tribute to an African-American man, "and, at this point, Martin is the best candidate we have."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19720114&id=vxcpAAAAIBAJ&pg=1020,1967908|title=Coretta Scott Still Working To Have Husband's Birthday Declared Holiday|date=January 14, 1972|work=[[The Gadsden Times]]|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19720114&id=vxcpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jNcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1020,1967908|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Murray M. Silver, an Atlanta attorney, made the appeal at the services on January 14, 1979. Coretta Scott King later confirmed that it was the "best, most productive appeal ever". Coretta Scott King was finally successful in this campaign in 1986, when [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] was made a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]].

After the death of J. Edgar Hoover, King made no attempt to hide her bitterness towards him for his work against her husband in a long statement.<ref>Gentry, p. 34.</ref> Coretta Scott King attended the [[state funeral]] of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1973, as a very close friend of the former [[President of the United States|president]]. On July 25, 1978, King held a press conference in defense of then-Ambassador Andrew Young and his controversial statement on political prisoners in American jails.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19780726&id=BstaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5122,6221369|work=[[Deseret News]] |title=Coretta defends Young|date=July 26, 1978}}</ref>
On September 19, 1979, King visited the Lyndon B. Johnson ranch to meet with [[Lady Bird Johnson]].<ref>Polden, p. 112.</ref>
In 1979 and 1980 Dr. Noel Erskine and King co-taught a class on "The Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr." at the [[Candler School of Theology]] ([[Emory University]]). On September 29, 1980, King's signing as a commentator for CNN was announced by [[Ted Turner]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19800930&id=h0lOAAAAIBAJ&pg=5504,6474249|title=Ted Turner hires Coretta King|date=September 30, 1980|work=[[Star-News]]}}</ref>
[[File:President Ronald Reagan at the Signing Ceremony for Martin Luther King Holiday Legislation.jpg|thumb|left|Coretta Scott attends the signing of [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] by President [[Ronald Reagan]] on November 2, 1983]]
On August 26, 1983, King resented endorsing Jesse Jackson for president, since she wanted to back up someone she believed could beat [[Ronald Reagan]], and dismissed her husband becoming a presidential candidate had he lived.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19830826&id=_w1WAAAAIBAJ&pg=4739,5858529|title=Coretta King says Jackson can't win|date=August 26, 1983|work=[[The Register-Guard]]|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19830826&id=_w1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4739,5858529|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 26, 1985, King was arrested with her daughter Bernice and son Martin Luther King III while taking part in an anti-[[apartheid]] protest at the Embassy of South Africa in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/123863692.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Jun+27%2C+1985&author=By+Laurel+E.+Miller+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post++%281974-Current+file%29&edition=&startpage=C3&desc=Coretta+King+Arrested+at+Embassy | title=Coretta King Arrested at Embassy | first=Laurel E. | last=Miller | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=June 27, 1985 | access-date=July 5, 2017 | archive-date=March 15, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315093431/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/123863692.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AAI&date=Jun%2027%2C%201985&author=By%20Laurel%20E.%20Miller%20Washington%20Post%20Staff%20Writer&pub=The%20Washington%20Post%20%20%281974-Current%20file%29&edition=&startpage=C3&desc=Coretta%20King%20Arrested%20at%20Embassy | url-status=dead }}</ref>

When President [[Ronald Reagan]] signed legislation establishing the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she was at the event. Reagan called her to personally apologize for a remark he made during a nationally televised conference, where he said we would know in "35 years" whether or not King was a communist sympathizer. Reagan clarified his remarks came from the fact that the papers had been sealed off until the year 2027.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19831022&id=N6oyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5631,4828497|title=Reagan offers Coretta King an apology|work=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|date=October 22, 1983|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19831022&id=N6oyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W-gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5631,4828497|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> King accepted the apology and pointed out the Senate Select Committee on Assassinations had not found any basis to suggest her husband had communist ties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19831023&id=0EgrAAAAIBAJ&pg=4038,2260988|title=Coretta Scott King satisfied with Reagan's apology|work=[[Nevada Daily Mail]]|date=October 23, 1983|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1908&dat=19831023&id=0EgrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=29UEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4038,2260988|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 9, 1987, eight civil rights activists were jailed for protesting the exclusion of African Americans during the filming of ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' in [[Cumming, Georgia]]. [[Oprah Winfrey]] tried to find out why the "community has not allowed black people to live there since 1912." King was outraged over the arrests, and wanted members of the group, "Coalition to End Fear and Intimidation in Forsyth County", to meet with Georgia Governor [[Joe Frank Harris]] to "seek a just resolution of the situation."<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Lewiston Journal]]|first=Robert|last=Byrd|date=February 11, 1987|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1899&dat=19870211&id=nb0gAAAAIBAJ&pg=3400,1365187|title=Coretta King outraged at jailing of 'Winfrey Show' protestors}}</ref> On March 8, 1989, King lectured hundreds of students about the civil rights movement at the [[University of San Diego]]. King tried to not get involved in the controversy around the naming of the San Diego Convention Center after her husband. She maintained it was up to the "people within the community" and that people had tried to get her involved in with "those kind of local situations."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-09/local/me-1255_1_coretta-scott-king|title=Coretta Scott King Sidesteps Controversy on Convention Center|date=March 9, 1989|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Shawn Maree|last=Smith|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108050617/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-09/local/me-1255_1_coretta-scott-king|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 17, 1993, King showed disdain for the U.S. missile attack on [[Iraq]]. In retaliation, she suggested peace protests.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-01-18/news/9301180438_1_coretta-scott-king-luther-king-martin-luther|title=Coretta Scott King Outraged About Strike|date=January 18, 1993|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|access-date=January 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112174155/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-01-18/news/9301180438_1_coretta-scott-king-luther-king-martin-luther|archive-date=January 12, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 16, 1993, King went to the FBI Headquarters and gave an approving address on Director [[William S. Sessions]] for having the FBI "turn its back on the abuses of the Hoover era."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-17/news/mn-271_1_fbi-headquarters|title=Coretta King, at FBI Headquarters, Backs Sessions, Assails Hoover|date=February 17, 1993|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Ronald J.|last=Ostrow|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108051043/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-17/news/mn-271_1_fbi-headquarters|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> King commended Sessions for his "leadership in bringing women and minorities into the FBI and for being a true friend of civil rights." King admitted that she would not have accepted the arrangement had it not been for Sessions, the then-current director.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-02-17/news/9303180952_1_william-s-sessions-fbi-coretta-scott-king|title=Coretta Scott King Praises Sessions, FBI|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Scripps|last=Howard|date=February 17, 1993|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116091413/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-02-17/news/9303180952_1_william-s-sessions-fbi-coretta-scott-king|archive-date=January 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 17, 1994, the day marking the 65th birthday of her husband, King said: "No injustice, no matter how great, can excuse even a single act of violence against another human being."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-01-18/news/mn-13055_1_assault-weapons|title=Opposition to Violence, Assault Weapons Are Focus of King Day|date=January 18, 1994|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108050756/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-01-18/news/mn-13055_1_assault-weapons|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 1995, [[Qubilah Shabazz]] was indicted on charges of using telephones and crossing state lines in a plot to kill [[Louis Farrakhan]]. King defended her, saying at Riverside Church in Harlem that federal prosecutors targeted her to tarnish her father [[Malcolm X]]'s legacy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-02-02/news/9502020338_1_malcolm-x-daughter-of-malcolm-coretta-scott-king|title=Coretta King: Charges Aim To Smear Malcolm X|date=February 2, 1995|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=January 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112181306/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-02-02/news/9502020338_1_malcolm-x-daughter-of-malcolm-coretta-scott-king|archive-date=January 12, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> During the fall of 1995, King chaired an attempt to register one million African American female voters for the [[1996 United States presidential election|presidential election next year]] with fellow widows [[Betty Shabazz]] and [[Myrlie Evers]] and was saluted by her daughter Yolanda in a Washington hotel ballroom.<ref>Rickford, p. 483.</ref> On October 12, 1995, King spoke about the [[O. J. Simpson murder case]], which she negated having a long-term effect on relations between races when speaking to an audience at [[Soka University]] in [[Aliso Viejo, California]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10-13/news/mn-56576_1_leader-martin-luther-king-jr|title=Coretta King Discusses Verdicts|date=October 13, 1995|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221230550/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10-13/news/mn-56576_1_leader-martin-luther-king-jr|archive-date=February 21, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
On January 24, 1996, King delivered a 40-minute speech at the Loyola University's Lake Shore campus in Rogers Park. She called for everyone to "pick up the torch of freedom and lead America towards another great revolution."<ref name=CorettaCarries>{{cite news| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-01-25/news/9601250042_1_coretta-scott-king-dr-king-affirmative-action| date=January 25, 1996| work=Chicago Tribune| first=Jerry| last=Thomas| title=Coretta Scott King Carries Dream| access-date=November 30, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030070841/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-01-25/news/9601250042_1_coretta-scott-king-dr-king-affirmative-action| archive-date=October 30, 2013| url-status=live}}</ref> On June 1, 1997, Betty Shabazz suffered extensive and life-threatening burns after her grandson [[Malcolm Shabazz]] started a fire in their home. In response to the hospitalization of her longtime friend, King donated $5,000 to a rehabilitation fund for her.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-06-18/news/9706180046_1_betty-shabazz-time-warner-coretta-scott-king|title=Shabazz Fund Drive Gets Levin, King Donations|date=June 18, 1997|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=January 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220140340/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-06-18/news/9706180046_1_betty-shabazz-time-warner-coretta-scott-king|archive-date=February 20, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Shabazz died on June 23, 1997, three weeks after being burned.
[[File:Coretta Scott King.jpg|alt=Coretta at Lincoln Memorial 30 th anniversary March on Washington  August 28, 1993|thumb|Coretta at Lincoln Memorial.                                                           30th anniversary March on Washington August 28, 1993]]
During the 1990s, King was subject to multiple break-ins and encountered [[Lyndon Fitzgerald Pace]], a man who admitted killing women in the area. He broke into the house in the middle of the night and found her while she was sitting in her bed. After nearly eight years of staying in the home following the encounter, King moved to a condominium unit which had also been the home, albeit part-time, for singers [[Elton John]] and [[Janet Jackson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=20050114&id=9vgrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3689,1055102|title=King's widow victim of multiple burglaries|date=January 14, 2005|work=[[Kentucky New Era]]|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=20050114&id=9vgrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EW0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3689,1055102|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Her new home was a gift from [[Oprah Winfrey]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=King's widow moves to condo from family home after multiple burglaries, son says|url=https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/kings-widow-moves-to-condo-from-family-home-after-multiple-burglaries-son-says/article_009e1bb4-224a-57df-8f65-6fd1394de201.html|access-date=2020-12-28|website=[[Sioux City Journal]]|date=January 14, 2005 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Louise |last=Chu |date=January 14, 2005|title=King's widow victim of multiple burglaries |newspaper=Kentucky New Era |via=Google News Archive |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=20050114&id=9vgrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3689,1055102|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> In 1999, the King family finally succeeded in getting a jury verdict saying her husband was the victim of a murder conspiracy after suing [[Loyd Jowers]], who claimed six years prior to having paid someone other than [[James Earl Ray]] to kill her husband.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19991210&id=UcYeAAAAIBAJ&pg=2814,2511744|title=King family gets jury verdict on conspiracy|work=[[Ellensburg Daily Record]]|first=Woody|last=Baird|date=December 10, 1999}}</ref> On April 4, 2000, King visited her husband's grave with her sons, daughter Bernice and sister-in-law. Regarding plans to construct a monument for her husband in Washington, D.C., King said it would "complete a group of memorials in the nation's capital honoring democracy's greatest leaders, including [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], and now Martin Luther King, Jr."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=psMDAAAAMBAJ&q=martin+luther+king+jet&pg=PA5|title=Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Family Commemorate 32nd Anniversary of His Death|date=April 24, 2000|work=Jet |access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://books.google.com/books?id=psMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=martin+luther+king+jet&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CTrTUvntE4juoAT1kIGIAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=martin%20luther%20king%20jet&f=false|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The National Park Service wanted to commemorate Martin Luther King's dream, but they did not want any discussion of his opposition to the war in Vietnam or to his struggle to end poverty in America. Coretta Scott King fought to ensure that her husband's legacy was not distorted and the history told at his monument in Washington D.C., was true to the [[Civil rights movement|Civil Rights Movement]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Andrew Young Remembers Coretta Scott King|newspaper = NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5181064|access-date=2020-12-28|publisher=NPR}}</ref>
She became [[veganism|vegan]] in the last 10 years of her life.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_n218/ai_17444897/?tag=content;col1 | work=[[Vegetarian Times]] | title=A King among men: Martin Luther King Jr.'s son blazes his own trail – Dexter Scott King | year=1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302512.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=The Real Coretta Scott King | first=Barbara A. | last=Reynolds | date=February 4, 2006 | access-date=August 26, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106140008/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302512.html | archive-date=November 6, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Opposition to apartheid ===
During the 1980s, Coretta Scott King reaffirmed her long-standing opposition to [[Crime of apartheid|apartheid]], participating in a series of sit-in protests in Washington, D.C., that prompted nationwide demonstrations against [[South Africa under apartheid|South African racial policies]].

King had a 10-day trip to South Africa in September 1986.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3785147.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610214743/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3785147.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2014|title=Mrs. King warns of sanctions 'hardship'|date=September 13, 1986|work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref> On September 9, 1986, she cancelled meeting President [[P. W. Botha]] and [[Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3784685.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610214736/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3784685.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2014|title=Mrs. King won't meet Botha|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=September 10, 1986}}</ref> The next day, she met with [[Allan Boesak]]. The UDF leadership, Boesak and Winnie Mandela had threatened to avoid a meeting King if she met with Botha and Buthelezi.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3784852.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610214738/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3784852.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2014|title=Key apartheid foe meets King, hails her 'courage'|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=September 11, 1986}}</ref> She also met with Winnie Mandela that day, and called it "one of the greatest and most meaningful moments of my life." Nelson Mandela was still being imprisoned in [[Pollsmoor Prison]] after being transferred from [[Robben Island]] in 1982. Prior to leaving the United States for the meeting, King drew comparisons between the civil rights movement and Mandela's case.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3785068.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610214734/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3785068.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2014|title=King meets Winnie Mandela, denies snub to Botha // Emotions run high for apartheid foes|date=September 12, 1986|work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref> Upon her return to the United States, she urged Reagan to approve [[economic sanctions]] against South Africa.

=== Peacemaking ===
Coretta Scott King was a long-time advocate for [[world peace]]. Author [[Michael Eric Dyson]] has called her "an earlier and more devoted pacifist than her husband."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7ljj_iyQcwC&q=%22committee+for+a+sane+nuclear+policy%22+%22coretta+scott+king%22&pg=PA64 |title=I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr – Michael Eric Dyson |isbn=9780684867762 |access-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://books.google.com/books?id=F7ljj_iyQcwC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=%22committee+for+a+sane+nuclear+policy%22+%22coretta+scott+king%22&source=bl&ots=afCa0mVk6w&sig=Q6iPfLWboCLlKlRk0Xb7wUMmUsg&hl=en&ei=Dog3TZjdCobWgQfN8YmcCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=%22committee%20for%20a%20sane%20nuclear%20policy%22%20%22coretta%20scott%20king%22&f=false |archive-date=October 19, 2015 |url-status=live |last1=Dyson |first1=Michael Eric |last2=Jagerman |first2=David L. |year=2000 |publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref> Although King would object to the term "[[pacifism]]", she was an advocate of non-violent direct action to achieve social change. In 1957, King was one of the founders of The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (now called [[Peace Action]]),<ref>{{cite web |author=Minoa D. Uffelman, Austin Peay State University |url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1489 |title=Coretta Scott King |website=[[Encyclopedia of Alabama]] |access-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123155437/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1489 |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and she spoke in San Francisco while her husband spoke in New York at the major anti-Vietnam war march on April 15, 1967, organized by the [[Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam]].

King was vocal in her opposition to [[capital punishment]] and the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name=HuffPo>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/jeh-johnson-mlk-war-dream_n_811213.html |title=Lawmakers Press Pentagon Official on MLK War Claim |website=[[The Huffington Post]] |date=January 19, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092206/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/jeh-johnson-mlk-war-dream_n_811213.html |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== LGBT equality ===
In August 1983, in Washington, D. C., she urged amendment of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] to include gays and lesbians as a [[Protected group#United States|protected class]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncblgfounders.org/founders-associates-notes/2011/10/29/1983-coretta-scott-king-endorses-national-gay-and-lesbian-ci.html |title=1983, Coretta Scott King Endorses National Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Legislation – Founders Notes |publisher=NCBLG Founders |date=October 29, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818163007/http://www.ncblgfounders.org/founders-associates-notes/2011/10/29/1983-coretta-scott-king-endorses-national-gay-and-lesbian-ci.html|archive-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref>

In response to the Supreme Court's 1986 decision in ''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]]'' that there was no constitutional right to engage in consensual sodomy, King's long-time friend, Winston Johnson of Atlanta, came out to her and was instrumental in arranging King as the featured speaker at the September 27, 1986, New York Gala of the [[Human Rights Campaign|Human Rights Campaign Fund]]. As reported in the ''[[New York Native]]'', King stated that she was there to express her solidarity with the gay and lesbian movement. She applauded gays as having "always been a part of the civil rights movement".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-g-long/coretta-scott-king_b_2592049.html |title=Coretta's Big Dream: Coretta Scott King on Gay Rights &#124; Michael G. Long |website=The Huffington Post |date=January 31, 2013 |access-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419013941/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-g-long/coretta-scott-king_b_2592049.html |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 1, 1998, at the [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House Hilton]] in [[Chicago]], King called on the civil rights community to join in the struggle against [[homophobia]] and anti-gay bias. "Homophobia is like racism and [[anti-Semitism]] and other forms of [[bigotry]] in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood", she stated.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQpKJRlgnrAC&q=Homophobia+is+like+racism+and+anti-Semitism+and+other+forms+of+bigotry+in+that+it+seeks+to+dehumanize+a+large+group+of+people,+to+deny+their+humanity,&pg=PA117 |title=Coretta Scott King: Civil Rights Activist – Dale Evva Gelfand, Lisa Renee Rhodes – Google Books |isbn=9781438100777 |access-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://books.google.com/books?id=VQpKJRlgnrAC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=Homophobia+is+like+racism+and+anti-Semitism+and+other+forms+of+bigotry+in+that+it+seeks+to+dehumanize+a+large+group+of+people,+to+deny+their+humanity,&source=bl&ots=3sxG1tZe87&sig=V8YzDekRnWSy5i0au5D7DgVWus8&hl=en&ei=yZHZTp6sDena0QGA-53TDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Homophobia%20is%20like%20racism%20and%20anti-Semitism%20and%20other%20forms%20of%20bigotry%20in%20that%20it%20seeks%20to%20dehumanize%20a%20large%20group%20of%20people%2C%20to%20deny%20their%20humanity%2C&f=false |archive-date=October 19, 2015 |url-status=live |last1=Gelfand |first1=Dale Evva |last2=Rhodes |first2=Lisa Renee |year=2009 |publisher=Infobase }}</ref> "This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next [[minority group]]."

On March 31, 1998, at the 25th anniversary luncheon for the [[Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund]], King said: "I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people, and I should stick to the issue of racial justice.&nbsp;... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'&nbsp;... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people."<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Merritt | first=James Edward Jr. |date=2011 |title=For all God's people: Diverse people of faith for ecumenical witness and public policy |type=PhD |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Episcopal Divinity School |page=73 |id=ark:/13960/t8pc4jf1f |url=https://archive.org/stream/forallgodspeople00merr#page/n161/mode/2up/search/brotherhood+and+sisterhood+for+lesbian |access-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802070647/https://archive.org/stream/forallgodspeople00merr#page/n161/mode/2up/search/brotherhood+and+sisterhood+for+lesbian |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 1, 1998 |title=Those Who Lived the Struggle to End Segregation Now Speak Out for Same-Gender Marriage Equality |publisher=[[Soulforce]] |url=http://www.archives.soulforce.org/1998/01/01/those-who-lived-the-struggle-to-end-segregation-now-speak-out-for-same-gender-marriage-equality/ |access-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125074521/http://www.archives.soulforce.org/1998/01/01/those-who-lived-the-struggle-to-end-segregation-now-speak-out-for-same-gender-marriage-equality/ |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 1999 |title=1998 in Review |magazine=[[Out (magazine)|Out]] |issn=1062-7928 |page=26 |volume=7 |number=7  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2IEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22brotherhood+and+sisterhood+for+lesbian%22&pg=PA26 |access-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729182308/https://books.google.com/books?id=L2IEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26#q=%22brotherhood%20and%20sisterhood%20for%20lesbian%22 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 9, 2000, she repeated similar remarks at the opening plenary session of the 13th annual [[Creating Change Conference]], organized by the [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]]<!--in Atlanta-->.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks by Coretta Scott King at Creating Change in 2000 |publisher=Michigan State University Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender Resource Center |url=http://lbgtrc.msu.edu/docs/csk-ngltfcc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827203527/http://lbgtrc.msu.edu/docs/csk-ngltfcc.htm |archive-date=August 27, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Vivian | first=O.B. | title=Coretta: The Story of Coretta Scott King | publisher=Fortress Press | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-4514-1534-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/corettastoryofco0000vivi | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/corettastoryofco0000vivi/page/122 122] | access-date=March 3, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802070348/https://archive.org/details/corettastoryofco0000vivi | archive-date=August 2, 2020 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 19, 2000 |title=Rants & raves |magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |issn=0001-8996 |page=10 |publisher=Here Media |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22MEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22brotherhood+and+sisterhood+for+lesbian%22&pg=PA10 |access-date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729172203/https://books.google.com/books?id=22MEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10#q=%22brotherhood%20and%20sisterhood%20for%20lesbian%22 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Blumenfeld | first=Warren | date=January 20, 2015 | title=Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "Inescapable Network of Mutuality" | website=[[Tikkun Daily]] | url=http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2015/01/20/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-inescapable-network-of-mutuality/ | access-date=January 24, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015807/http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2015/01/20/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-inescapable-network-of-mutuality/ | archive-date=January 25, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2003, she invited the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to take part in observances of the 40th anniversary of the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|March on Washington]] and Martin Luther King's ''[[I Have a Dream]]'' speech. It was the first time that an LGBT rights group had been invited to a major event of the African-American community.<ref>{{cite web|title=King, Coretta Scott|url=http://www.alabamamusicoffice.com/joomla/artists-a-z/k/1196-king-coretta-scott.html|publisher=Alabama Music Office|access-date=February 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708034156/http://www.alabamamusicoffice.com/joomla/artists-a-z/k/1196-king-coretta-scott.html|archive-date=July 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Her funeral was conducted by [[Eddie Long|Bishop Eddie Long]], which has been criticized by then-NAACP chairman [[Julian Bond]] who refused to attend it, stating that he "just couldn't imagine that she'd want to be in that church with a minister who was a raving homophobe".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-05-04|title=BV Q&A; With Julian Bond - AOL Black Voices|url=http://www.blackvoices.com/black_news/canvas_directory_headlines_features/_a/bv-qanda-with-julian-bond/20060908115409990002|access-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504063629/http://www.blackvoices.com/black_news/canvas_directory_headlines_features/_a/bv-qanda-with-julian-bond/20060908115409990002|archive-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref>

=== The King Center ===
Established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King, The King Center is the official memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy and ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., leader of a nonviolent movement for justice, equality, and peace. Two days after her husband's funeral, King began planning $15&nbsp;million for funding the memorial.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19860117&id=O9k8AAAAIBAJ&pg=1201,603719|title=Coretta King determined as she pursues|work=[[Bangor Daily News]]|date=January 17, 1986|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19860117&id=O9k8AAAAIBAJ&sjid=Qi4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1201,603719|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> She handed the reins as CEO and president of the King Center down to her son, Dexter Scott King.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome |publisher=The King Center |url=http://www.thekingcenter.org/tkc/index.asp |access-date=September 10, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070909020247/http://www.thekingcenter.org/tkc/index.asp|archive-date=September 9, 2007 }}</ref> The Kings initially had difficulty gathering the papers since they were in different locations, including colleges he attended and archives. King had a group of supporters begin gathering her husband's papers in 1967, the year before his death.<ref>Bagley, p. 263.</ref> After raising funds from a private sector and the government, she financed the building of the complex in 1981.<ref>Dyson, pp. 270–271.</ref>

In 1984, she came under criticism by [[Hosea Williams]], one of her husband's earliest followers, for having used the King Center to promote "authentic material" on her husband's dreams and ideals, and disqualified the merchandise as an attempt to exploit her husband. She sanctioned the kit, which contained a wall poster, five photographs of King and his family, a cassette of the [[I Have a Dream]] speech, a booklet of tips on how to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and five postcards with quotations from King himself. She believed it to be the authentic way to celebrate the holiday honoring her husband, and denied Hosea's claims.<ref>{{cite web|title=Merchandising of Martin Luther King|publisher=Mike Gardner|year=1984|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBgmkQt1m9w|access-date=October 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206204927/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBgmkQt1m9w|archive-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

King sued her husband's alma mater of [[Boston University]] over who would keep over 83,000 documents in December 1987 and said the documents belonged with the King archives. However, her husband was held to his word by the university; he had stated after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 that his papers would be kept at the college. Coretta's lawyers argued that the statement was not binding and mentioned that King had not left a will at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsIDAAAAMBAJ&q=coretta+scott+king+jet|title=Coretta King, Boston Univ. Will Go to Court Over the Ownership of King Papers|date=February 3, 1992|work=Jet |access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://books.google.com/books?id=RsIDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=coretta+scott+king+jet&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YWDLUpr4B8PwoASf9YCwBg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=coretta%20scott%20king%20jet&f=false|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> King testified that President of Boston University [[John R. Silber]] in a 1985 meeting demanded that she send the university all of her husband's documents instead of the other way around.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-28/news/mn-28207_1_king|title=Nation In Brief: Massachusetts: Mrs. King Describes Dispute Over Papers|date=April 28, 1993|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108051127/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-28/news/mn-28207_1_king|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> King released the statement, "Dr. King wanted the south to be the repository of the bulk of his papers. Now that the King Center library and archives are complete and have one of the finest civil-rights collections in all the world, it is time for the papers to be returned home."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19871207&id=zP4yAAAAIBAJ&pg=4944,3063283|title=Coretta King sues school, seeks return of documents|date=December 7, 1987|work=[[The Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire)|The Telegraph]]|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019043605/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19871207&id=zP4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=efwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4944,3063283|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 17, 1992, President [[George H. W. Bush]] laid a wreath at the tomb of her husband and met with and was greeted by King at the center. King praised Bush's support for the holiday, and joined hands with him at the end of a ceremony and sang "[[We Shall Overcome]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19920117&id=gd0rAAAAIBAJ&pg=4106,1445993|title=Bush commemorates King|date=January 17, 1992 |work=Kentucky New Era}}</ref>
On May 6, 1993, a court rejected her claims to the papers after finding that a July 16, 1964 letter from Martin Luther King to the institute had constituted a binding charitable pledge to the university and outright stating that Martin Luther King retained ownership of his papers until giving them to the university as gifts or his death. King, however, said her husband had changed his mind about allowing Boston University to keep the papers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-07/news/mn-32418_1_king-papers-mrs|title=Mrs. King Loses Court Fight to Get Her Husband's Papers|date=May 7, 1993|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108050737/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-07/news/mn-32418_1_king-papers-mrs|archive-date=January 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> After her son Dexter took over as the president of the King Center for the second time in 1994, King was given more time to write, address issues and spend time with her parents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0DAAAAMBAJ&q=coretta+scott+king+jet&pg=PA5|title=Dexter King Will Succeed Mom Coretta Scott King As Chairman/CEO MLK Center|date=November 7, 1994|work=Jet |access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201091708/https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=coretta+scott+king+jet&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Py7PUtaTJo3coASbl4HYCQ&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=coretta%20scott%20king%20jet&f=false|archive-date=December 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom ===
In 2005, King gifted the use of her name to her alma mater, [[Antioch College]] in [[Yellow Springs, Ohio|Yellow Springs]], to create the [[Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom|Coretta Scott King Center]] as an experiential learning resource to address issues of race, class, gender, diversity, and social justice for the campus and the surrounding community. The center opened in 2007 on the Antioch College campus.

The center lists its mission as "The Coretta Scott King Center facilitates learning, dialogue, and action to advance social justice", and its vision as "To transform lives, the nation and the world by cultivating change agents, collaborating with communities, and fostering networks to advance human rights and social justice."<ref>{{cite web|title=Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom|url=https://www.antiochcollege.edu/coretta-scott-king-center|access-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112042558/https://www.antiochcollege.edu/coretta-scott-king-center|archive-date=January 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>