The saying goes “behind every good man is a good woman”. But that’s not completely true. Behind every good man, is a power, giving and amazing woman. Those are our Sheros—Queens who have loved and stood by their men for years, no matter their strife, stresses or doubts, and then hold down their own personal endeavors at the same damn time. Today, we salute the H.E.R. behind Him: Mrs. Coretta Scott King—wife of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
WISDOM AND WORDS THAT ARE TIMELESS
Activist; Civil Rights Leader; Author; Mother; Wife; Sorority Sister; Child of God—those are only a few roles, that we know about, that Mrs. King held.
But do you know how amazing she was before she engulf herself into the civil right movement with her husband? No? Well then let me share.
YOUNG, BLACK AND BRILLIANT
Born April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama, she was birthed into a family of musicians, businessmen and women, not to mention, with Irish, African- and Native-American blood running through her veins (maternal grandparents). Stepping through the open doors her family created, along with the lessons they taught through faith and education, Ms. Scott graduated valedictorian of Lincoln High School. As a dedicated student of the arts, she received her B.A. in music from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and continued on to study concert singing at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, earning a degree in voice and violin. It was then that she met her would-be husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., who was studying for his doctorate in Systematic Theory at Boston University.
WHEN DUTY CALLED, SHE ANSWERED
Besides stepping up into one of the most influential roles as a Pastor’s wife, she courageously put herself on the front lines with her husband, fighting for human rights for African-Americans and others. When Dr. King was locked up, she went to leaders in the community and the government, charging them to do what was needed for her community.
Even with rumors of infidelity and the stresses of having to care for four young children on her own at times, she refused to remain silent. Her stances remain etched in stone today.
H.E.R. LEGACY CONTINUES
As we prepare to watch our first black President, hand off his power to the next (a dream of both Mr. and Mrs. King fulfilled), let us be reminded of what she, and now we should, stand for with this quote from her 1986 letter to Congress:
“Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts…Mr. Sessions has used the awesome power of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship,”
– Letter from Coretta Scott King to Congress against Jeff Sessions federal judiciary bid.
#Message: If you don’t stand for anything, you will fall for everything. How will you support her legacy?
H.E.R. Crisis 
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