Imani Harris

Vanessa Murphree
MCJ 426
Primary Source Paper

As a young black woman, all I have ever yearned for in my life to help me succeed was a

role model. That role model came in the form of a book about Coretta Scott King when my

parents gave me a children’s book titled “Coretta Scott King” in second grade. When given the

task of researching her life through the Civil Rights Movement, I was overjoyed. Coretta stood

behind her husband, while also creating a path for herself. The issue is that not many articles in

the media surrounding Civil Rights spoke of Coretta’s activist accomplishments during her early

life. In fact, most of the media coverage surrounding her before 1968 focuses on her voice, her

musical background, her beauty, and her talent. These particular years in the media reduced her

down to being the wife of MLK and being a singer. The media also portrayed her biggest task as

being a wife and a homemaker. She was just as devoted to Civil Rights and activism as her

husband was but was not portrayed that way in the media until he died.

Most information and sources that come up when you search Coretta Scott King talk

about Martin Luther King Jr., his legacy, and her being his wife. I had to really dig and search

fervently to find sources catered to exploring her life. I had to refine my search and look through

specific sources to gather enough information. This could be due to her being a woman and

being a mother, because in the time period my search focuses on, men were at the forefront of

movements, working in the workforce and in politics, and were given the credit for all of these

things. The historical time period may have had a lot to do with how Coretta was covered in the

media along with the fact that she was female.

All of the sources used to research media coverage on Coretta from 1960-2008 came from

black owned magazines or either black owned newspapers that cater to what black audiences
need as far as media, news, health and wellness, and beauty is concerned. Some sources were Jet

Magazine, a currently digital magazine that is marketed to African-American readers. John H.

Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois founded Jet in 1951. A big

piece of my research was found in Ebony Magazine, a magazine for the African-American

market. It was founded by John H. Johnson in Chicago and has published continuously since the

autumn of 1945. One of my more intriguing sources was an article from the Arkansas State

Press, a weekly pro-civil rights newspaper. Soul City Times is another interesting black

published newspaper that focuses on black issues that has aided me in my research on how

Coretta Scott King was portrayed in the media.

The media, whether it’s mass media, social media, newspapers, magazines or what have

you, can be used to show positive or negative things about someone. It has the power to distort

and sway an audiences’ perception and idea of someone, and it has done just that for Coretta

Scott King. There are a few basic ways the media has shown Coretta throughout her life and

even after – before the death of Martin Luther King, she was portrayed as shy, soft-spoken, a

family woman, and sort of like a sidekick to Martin. I only found sources that spoke to her

singing talent and her being the wife of MLK Jr. After his death, she was shown as a determined,

qualified, activist who bore the weight of her husband’s mission on her shoulders and took on

several civil rights projects of her own. After much research and time spent dissecting her image

as a side-kick, a mother, an activist, and a black woman, I have a new appreciation for Coretta

Scott King’s life.

Diving into media coverage of Coretta Scott King before MLK Jr.’s death, one of my

sources gave me a little insight to how the media portrayed Coretta Scott King before the death

of her husband – as a talented singer, using her voice to aid her husband in the fight for Civil
Rights. This source from the December issue of Jet Magazine in 1958 says, “Mrs. Martin Luther

King Jr. rose in historic Dexter Ave. Baptist Church and sang her joy on the third anniversary

celebration of a pacifist bus protest”. 1 The source went into great detail about her musical

background and even showcased a quote from her implying that she toyed with the idea of

having a career or marrying Martin. The cover page of this edition made comments about Coretta

saying she is the “pretty wife” of King or “King’s wife sings for civil rights.”

My next source that mentions Coretta before MLK Jr. dies is an article from the Arkansas

State Press in 1957. It speaks of her being a special guest at a Brother Hood Luncheon. It again

mentions Coretta’s incredible musical background, recent concerts she sang at, and how her

talent relates to her husband’s Civil Rights career. It never mentions why she was invited as a

special guest leaving me to believe she was picked to sing at the event.2

An article, Profiles Women's Groups Develop, Maintain Progressive Programs and

Services, from the RCA Baton periodical mentions Coretta Scott King in 1967. The article lists

all the accomplishments and extraordinary things all of these women were a part of. When

speaking of Coretta, it reads, “Marriage to the distinguished head of the Southern Christian

Leadership Conference…would seem to preclude any personal career for this active clergyman’s

wife. Yet, Mrs. Coretta Scott King has earned her recognition as a brilliant musician”.3 This

article talks about her music and ends by naming her greatest accomplishment: being a

homemaker and a mother to her four children. Here, I found sexism. Coretta was talented and an

1
“Like Husband, Coretta King Has ‘Voice’ in Rights Fight.” Jet Magazine, December 18, 1958,
14, 15.
2
"Wife of Martin Luther King to Be Guest of NCNW." Arkansas State Press, February 22,
1957. Accessed May 3, 2018.
3
"Women's Groups Develop, Maintain Progressive Programs and Services." RCA Boston,
December 21, 1967. Accessed May 3, 2018.
activist but her greatest life accomplishment boils down to being a mother and a wife according

to this source – which are great things but her life doesn’t have to come down to those two

characteristics.

“The years following Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, King focused on the raising of her

children and continued her and her husband’s dream of equality for all. After many years of

speeches, fundraising, and building, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non Violent Social

Change was opened in 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia. King and her family worked hand in hand with

the Center, for which she was the president as well”, Coretta said. This quote shows lead me

directly into my sources highlighting media coverage of Coretta after Martin’s death. It was as if

after Martin’s death, Coretta’s life jumpstarted and took on a new meaning. Not only did she

have to still take care of her family, but she had to continue the work her husband started and

even add in a few civil rights projects of her own. The media started showcasing Coretta as a

powerful, dedicated, forward thinking woman. She was no long the sidekick in the media.

Coretta became the hero.

The next source, an Ebony magazine article titled “In Her Husband’s Footsteps”,

documents Coretta’s life immediately after the death of her husband in 1968. It paints this picture

of Coretta as a powerful, strong, single mother who had not “broken down nor wept openly” in

the wake of MLK Jr.’s death. There was an immediate shift here in media coverage. In the

media, she was now a strong, public figure having to nurture and care for all of the other people

in her life who were hurting even as she herself was devastated. This article went into great detail

about the things Ms. King had done. “During Dr. King’s life, she substituted for him as a speaker
many times and, on her own, gave lecture-concerts to raise funds for SCLS which he headed”.4

A close friend of Coretta’s confided in the journalist that Coretta had been saying all of the

things she’d said during the speech she gave at her husband’s memorial for a long time, but not

as many people were paying attention. She let us know that Coretta had always been a champion

for civil rights but now that Martin had been assassinated, people were looking to and listening

to her. This source showed themes of identifying Coretta as a “strong, black woman”. In today’s

society and especially in the media, black women are programmed to think and believe that if we

want to be taken seriously and if we want to be successful, we are not allowed to feel. We are not

allowed to seem too emotional or too passionate out of fear of being labelled as angry or over the

top or “too much”. The fact that this source praised Coretta for not sharing her grief solidifies

this notion.

The Soul City Times, published an article about Coretta in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on

November 8, 1969. They made mention that Coretta would be giving a speech about peace at the

Woman-power in Action for Peace conference. A big piece of the article discussed her book “My

Life with Martin” which details Martin’s legacy, his mission and purpose on Earth, and how his

death affected her. The author did tell us that Coretta won the “Woman In Action” award but

didn’t tell us anything about what she did to get it.5 I do understand why this source would make

great mention of MLK Jr. because he’d just died the year before. I do appreciate that it didn’t

mention her singing or her being a mother. They specifically gave credit to Coretta for speaking,

for being an author, and for helping out with the conference. I could definitely see the shift in

media coverage even though it was just a year after her husband’s death. There was nothing

4
Garland, Phyl. "Coretta King: In Her Husband's Footsteps." Ebony Magazine, September 1968,
154-63.)
5
"Soul City Times, November 8, 1969. Accessed May 3, 2018.
hypocritical or sexist about the way Coretta Scott King was portrayed in this article, although it

was quite different than the way she was portrayed before her husband’s death.

In 1971, Coretta Scott King and associates of MLK made it their mission to get American

government to make January 15, her husband’s birthday, a national holiday. Jet Magazine, Apr

5, 1973, covered this story. The author wrote, “Coretta Scott King urged Alabama blacks to take

the responsibility of applying public pressure on the state’s predominantly-white legislature to

see that the holiday is declared”6 This source personifies Coretta as sort of a motherly voice of

reason. They quote her several times asking leaders to be responsible for this holiday becoming

real.

In 1972, Coretta organized a concert to celebrate Martin’s birthday. Motown superstars

The Jackson Five and Aretha Franklin and The Pips performed at this joyous occasion. Coretta

Scott King handled the speaking endeavors for the event and all proceeds were given to Coretta t

help the MLK Center for Social Change. This source highlights that although Coretta was doing

her own activism work in the county at this point, she still actively honored her husband’s life as

much as she could.7

An article, "Racism Behind Desire to Maintain School Segregation", was written in

December of 1974 about a rally to oppose segregation in Boston schools. Coretta Scott King was

one of the leaders of and speakers at the rally. This article didn’t mention her as the widow of

Martin Luther King Jr. at all. It strictly covered the rally, words from Coretta, her fight against

segregated schools in Boston, and her beliefs about racism and inequality. This source was

written about 6 years after Martin’s death so this source leads me to believe people began to

6
“His Ex-Lawyer Files Bill for King’s Birthday Holiday.” Jet Magazine, April 5, 1973, 8.
7
"Motown Artists Headline MLK Birthday Concert in Atlanta". Soul, March 6, 1972. Accessed
May 3, 2018.
disassociate her activism from Martin’s mission. Media coverage started to really hone in and

focus n Coretta’s fight for justice and civil rights. I really enjoyed reading an article that focused

in on the issue and Coretta’s part in solving it. It’s as if the media started seeing value in Coretta

just being Coretta and not the widow of MLK Jr. and the mother of his kids.8

“It was the fact that we succeeded in impressing upon the Congress and the American

people the need for civil rights legislation so that the Congress could act. You cannot have policy

changes without having legislative changes”, said Coretta Scott King in an excerpt from an

article titled “Straight Talk Coretta King Envisions Broad-Based March”. This source was found

I the National Leader periodical in September of 1983. The media coverage in this source had no

ties to her husband. It briefly mentioned him in relation to Coretta and not the other way around.

This article really showed off her intelligence, her work with congress, her work with the

nonviolence center, and her work with the march on Washington. It just gave me a perception of

a black woman doing the work she has always been capable of doing.9

Lynn Norment wrote an article titled “The Woman Behind the King Anniversary” for

Ebony Magazine in January of 1990 which details Coretta’s fight to make MLK Jr.’s birthday a

national holiday. This article details Coretta’s how much time actually went into advancing her

activism causes. Norment writes, “This caring social activist is also a tough negotiator who gets

things done.” This media coverage was exceptional and glorified Coretta for her life and her

deeds to make this country better. I believe the positive disposition, the rare mention of Martin,

the underlying feeling of “girl/woman-power” in the article, and the picture of a hardworking,

8
"Racism Behind Desire to Maintain School Segregation"." Black Panther, December 14, 1974.
Accessed May 3, 2018.
9
"Straight Talk Coretta King Envisions Broad-Based March” National Leader, September 1,
1983. Accessed May 3, 2018.
black woman can be completely boiled down to the fact that the article was written by a woman.

The word-choice, the pictures, the phrases, and even the quotes personified an idea of Coretta

being a superwoman or a girl-boss as we say today. This media representation of Coretta was

powerful and merited.10

One of the sources I appreciated for focusing in on Coretta’s motherly love and support

was the Jet Magazine November 7 edition in 1994. Her son was being named the next president

of the King Center and this source focused in on her motherly support and encouragement for

him being the new president. They spoke of her utmost recommendation, encouragement, and

endorsement of her son. It was as if the media coverage had come full circle. This media

coverage of Coretta was merited and appropriate in covering her life as a mother and how grand

that part of her accomplishments are. It didn’t size her down to just being a mom but highlighted

how grand it is in respect to all her other accomplishments.11

I believe there was significant, non-sensational coverage of Coretta in the media after the

death of Martin. She was recognized for the work she did and the fight she took on to ensure that

all people were granted the same rights and the same treatment. As women usually do, the media

showed how she took her man’s mission and turned into something bigger and greater. Ebony

Magazine in April of 1990 12 recognized that Coretta was voted as the second most admired

black American woman by their readers beating out the likes of Maya Angelou and Phylicia

Rashad, both honorable and well-renowned black women. I believe accomplishments such as

this one wouldn’t have happened for Coretta if the media hadn’t changed the way they

10
"Norment, Lynn. "Coretta Scott King: The Woman Behind the King Anniversary." Ebony,
January 1, 1990, 116-123.)
11
“Dexter King Will Succeed Mom Coretta Scott King as Chairman/CEO MLK Center.” Jet
Magazine, November 7, 1994, 5.
12
"Who's in & Who's Out in the '90s." Ebony Magazine, April 1990, 123.
showcased her life after Martin’s death. After her own death in 2006, the February 20th issue of

Jet Magazine created a spread to celebrate and honor her life. They told her story, highlighted

great accomplishments such as Coretta being “among five Americans honored in 1983 with the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom Medal”, or some of our greatest black leaders honoring her with

comments such as her being “one of the great black women…who leave us stronger, cleaner and

wiser”, the first lady of civil rights, and a woman of “poise, grace, and dignity. The media never

spoke of Coretta Scott King in such high regard before 1968.13 She was always the mother, the

singer, or the wife. Jet Magazine published an article in May 24, 1993 that documented the night

some of America’s best stars paid tribute to Coretta Scott King for keeping her husband’s dream

alive. This source described her as a woman of perseverance, dedicated, and someone who

“carries on”.14 Phrases and comments about her ability to carry on despite what she’s been

through leave the theme of Coretta being a courageous, fighting black women can be seen in this

source.15 The Jet Magazine January edition in 1993 gave readers a prelude of what was to come

for the “Tribute to Coretta Scott King” Gala.16

In that same May 1883 edition of Jet Magazine, an article was published about her being

disappointed in a jury for awarding her husband’s earliest manuscripts to Boston University

instead of allowing her to bring them to Atlanta, his home. “Mrs. King had argued that her

husband sent the papers to Boston University for safekeeping during a period of firebombing and

other violence in the South but changed his mind and wanted the papers returned eventually to

13
“Coretta Scott King: First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.” Jet Magazine, February 20,
2006, 6.
14
"Stars Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King for Keeping Dr. King's Dream Alive for 25 Years."
Jet Magazine, May 23, 1993, 54-56.
15
“Coretta Scott King: First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.” Jet Magazine, February 20,
2006, 26-42.
16
“Coretta Scott King to Be Honored at Gala Tribute.” Jet Magazine, January, 1993, 14.
Atlanta.” 17 This news source was very neutral and unbiased when portraying Coretta. She had

the right to be upset and this news source neither blamed her or glorified her for her feelings

which the news usually does concerning women.

Over the years, the media was able to see this true God-given woman for who she really

was – a force to be reckoned with, a leader. She was even referred to as a “dignitary”. 18 It

shouldn’t have taken her husband’s death for the media to really take responsibility for writing

about her the way she deserved. I believe if he was still alive, the media would’ve still just

considered her the sidekick. I appreciate the media’s willingness to evolve and support Coretta as

she stepped into the spotlight of the activism world.

For my research, I looked into all magazine and newspaper types but could honestly not

find much that would actually contribute to my paper in a significant way. I searched through

Time Magazine, Life Magazine, and other sources but didn’t find much to support my topic. It

wasn’t until I minimized my search to just inherent “black” sources that I could actually start

writing. I believe that says a lot of about the media. Black history is such a huge part of our

history as a nation and should be just as prevalent in universal primary sources as other parts of

history. I was also able to look into new sources for black news. I have tucked away new sources

for research that could possibly help me later on in finishing my Black Studies minor, I have a

new found appreciation for primary source research, and I appreciate the life of Coretta Scott

King even more now than I did before. I am also now grateful for the strides the media has made

through the years to accurately represent the lives of black women.

17
"Stars Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King for Keeping Dr. King's Dream Alive for 25 Years."
Jet Magazine, May 23, 1993, 59.
18
"1,500 Persons Attend OIC/A Convocation ". Black Economy, March 1, 1975. Accessed May
3, 2018.
 Bibliography

“Coretta Scott King to Be Honored at Gala Tribute.” Jet Magazine, January, 1993, 14.

“Coretta Scott King: First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.” Jet Magazine, February 20,
2006, 6.

“Coretta Scott King: First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.” Jet Magazine, February
20, 2006, 26-42.

“Dexter King Will Succeed Mom Coretta Scott King as Chairman/CEO MLK Center.” Jet
Magazine, November 7, 1994, 5.

Garland, Phyl. "Coretta King: In Her Husband's Footsteps." Ebony Magazine, September
1968, 154-63.

“His Ex-Lawyer Files Bill for King’s Birthday Holiday.” Jet Magazine, April 5, 1973, 8.

“Like Husband, Coretta King Has ‘Voice’ in Rights Fight.” Jet Magazine, December 18,
1958, 14, 15.

“Motown Artists Headline MLK Birthday Concert in Atlanta". Soul, March 6, 1972.
Accessed May 3, 2018.

“Mrs. Coretta King to Address Conference." Soul City Times, November 8, 1969. Accessed
May 3, 2018.

Norment, Lynn. "Coretta Scott King: The Woman Behind the King Anniversary." Ebony,
January 1, 1990, 116-123.

" Racism Behind Desire To Maintain School Segregation"." Black Panther, December 14,
1974. Accessed May 3, 2018.

"Stars Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King for Keeping Dr. King's Dream Alive for 25 Years."
Jet Magazine, May 23, 1993, 54-56.

"Stars Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King for Keeping Dr. King's Dream Alive for 25 Years."
Jet Magazine, May 23, 1993, 59.

“Straight Talk Coretta King Envisions Broad-Based March” National Leader, September 1,
1983. Accessed May 3, 2018.

“Wife of Martin Luther King to Be Guest of NCNW." Arkansas State Press, February 22,
1957. Accessed May 3, 2018.

"Who's in & Who's Out in the '90s." Ebony Magazine, April 1990, 123.
 Bibliography

“Women's Groups Develop, Maintain Progressive Programs and Services." RCA Boston,
December 21, 1967. Accessed May 3, 2018.

“1,500 Persons Attend OIC/A Convocation ". Black Economy, March 1, 1975. Accessed
May 3, 2018.