Presidential Prayer Kids

This picture shows the Lincoln School in Marion, AL where Coretta attended. The last class at Lincoln School graduated in 1969. Photo courtesy of Marion, AL.

Coretta worked very hard in school. As a young child she walked five miles each day to get to her one-room school, even though white children rode the bus to a school that was closer. Later, during high school, she traveled nine miles to get to Lincoln School in nearby Marion. Since it was so far to her school, Coretta’s mom hired a bus and drove all the black kids to school. The only other choice would have been for the kids to stay in Marion, but Bernice didn’t want her children to be away from home during the week, so she drove them! These early experiences with racial prejudice would influence young Coretta greatly.

While at Lincoln School, Coretta fell in love with music and pursued it with passion. She learned piano, trumpet and developed her voice, singing in school recitals. Coretta was also a terrific student, graduating at the top of her class in 1945. After graduation from high school, she went to Antioch College, Ohio, where her sister Edythe had been the first fulltime black student to live on campus. Antioch gave Coretta a great opportunity to experience life in a different way from what she had known in the South. At this mainly-white school she had many new opportunities. Majoring in music and education, she had the world open up to her through the marvels of college education.

One of the original buildings at Antioch College in Ohio.

A practical thinker, Coretta knew that a career in music performance, her true love, might not lead to the security she sought in life, so she also prepared for education. And she loved the other courses she took, including chemistry, economics, writing, political science and more. Coretta also believed in the great value of education for every person. In an article about her love for her time at Antioch College she concluded,

“I’m glad I came to college. I think I’ve got a lot from it. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how much there is to learn. I’m glad I came North to a [racially] mixed school. It hasn’t always been easy, but it gets easier every day. The more I study the more excited I get about what I’m learning. The more I work, the easier I find it is to do a good job. A college education has offered me more than the chance to better my condition, to acquire prestige, to earn my living. It has opened a lot of doors leading to a lot of different directions.”

This photo shows part of the campus of Boston College. Coretta and Martin met when he was a graduate student at Boston College. Image courtesy of Boston College.

It’s pretty great that Coretta could go to college, don’t you think? Not content to stop there, Coretta continued her education, enrolling in the New England Conservatory of Music after graduating from Antioch in 1951. Coretta had a tough time in Boston and had to work very hard cleaning the stairwells of her building just to scrape by! Her dinners often consisted of peanut butter and crackers. She had a full scholarship to cover her tuition, but she didn’t have much financial support from other sources.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a serious student studying for the ministry when Coretta met him.

The great and historic city of Boston brought more new experiences for Coretta. The virtual seat of the abolition movement, she found even greater acceptance, yet equality and full rights were more hoped for than realized. While Coretta was working on her music studies, which now included violin, a young minister was across town studying for a doctoral degree in systematic theology at Boston University. Coretta met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1952, and they dated for some time, even though Martin was quite certain of his love for Coretta very early in their relationship.

Coretta struggled with the proposal to marry Martin, but once God confirmed her decision, she knew she had met her destiny. They loved each other very much.

Because she was so focused on her goal of performing music, Coretta really wasn’t sure she should marry Martin. He was charming and sweet, yet she resisted his advances. She really wasn’t sure what to do about this wonderful man who had come into her life.

How did Coretta figure out what to do? She prayed. That’s right. Coretta prayed about the decision to marry Martin, because that is what she had been taught to do by her mother and father. She didn’t want to give up the purpose she knew God intended for her life, but she never expected to meet such a special man. So Coretta prayed. And God spoke to her very clearly in a dream, helping her surrender her struggle. Here’s how Coretta explained it in an interview:

I had to pray about it, because my parents were religious, I was brought up in the church, and I had a strong faith. I always believed that there was a purpose for my life, and that I had to seek that purpose, and that if I discovered that purpose, then I believed that I would be successful in what I was doing. And I thought I had found that purpose when I decided that music was going to be my career -- concert singing...

I studied voice the first year, and after I met Martin and prayed about whether or not I should open myself to that relationship, I had a dream, and in that dream, I was made to feel that I should allow myself to be open and stop fighting the relationship. And that's what I did, and of course the rest is history.

The couple married in 1953 and the next year and Martin was called to be the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL, the city that became a center of much of the struggle for civil rights.

When Coretta married Martin, she knew she would be a pastor’s wife—and that is a tough enough job! But she did not know that she would be thrust into the heart of the civil rights movement and that her family would be threatened, bombed and inconvenienced in so many ways over the years.

The children came soon. Yolanda was born in 1955, shortly before the bus boycott in Montgomery. With the boycott came great peril as their house was bombed in 1956 and two-month-old Yolanda narrowly escaped injury. With this new development, Coretta had to remain vigilant to protect her husband and children. There were many more threats and Martin was injured many times. The Kings had three more children: Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice.

The civil rights movement grew, and Coretta continued to support her husband and to work for equality and freedom for all people in America. Coretta walked with Martin in marches, she traveled overseas with him, she gave speeches when he was unable to do so, and she even sang in concerts to raise money for important causes.

Sadly, Martin was felled by an assassin’s bullet in 1968. The nation mourned, and Coretta carried on the important work, traveling with her children to Memphis for a very important march just days after Martin’s death.

Coretta Scott King attending the funeral of her husband, Martin, with daughter Bernice on her lap.

Coretta Scott King continued to work in the civil rights movement, making so many contributions, it’s hard to list them all. Her life and work were so incredibly significant that it took six hours to complete her memorial service—there were so many people who wanted to pay tribute to her!

Through the many years of her work, Coretta had a special source of help and strength—prayer! When she needed support or understanding for those who persecuted her or she was just concerned about her personal security, Coretta learned to rely on prayer. Here’s how she talked about it in her own words:

Prayer was a wellspring of strength and inspiration during the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout the movement, we prayed for greater human understanding. We prayed for the safety of our compatriots in the freedom struggle. We prayed for victory in our nonviolent protests, for brotherhood and sisterhood among people of all races, for reconciliation and the fulfillment of the Beloved Community.

Rev. Bernice King preached powerfully at her mother’s memorial service on Tuesday. Rev. King, the only child of Rev. and Mrs. King to pursue the ministry, is an elder at New Birth Missionary Church. Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Coretta’s life came to an end on January 30, 2006—on her son Dexter’s birthday. Many tributes have been held to honor her memory, and on Tuesday, February 7, more than 10,000 people came to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA for a six hour service honoring her life. The current president, George W. Bush, attended, along with three past presidents—Bush, Carter and Clinton. Three planeloads of congresspersons were there along with an impressive array of clergy and civil rights leaders. Martin and Coretta’s youngest daughter, Bernice (named for her grandma, Coretta’s mom!) delivered the eulogy and the message of the day. Bernice is the only King child to follow her father’s footsteps into ministry, though many nieces and nephews have done so.

QUESTION 1

True or False When Coretta Scott King was growing up, her family lived in total poverty, struggling to make a living on their family farm.

QUESTION 2

What did Coretta’s pastor tell the members of his church to do when they experienced persecution and prejudice?

The Bible is full of reminders that God is the final judge and the one who takes care of “paybacks.” There are lots of great verses that encourage us to leave the paybacks to God, since we could never administer justice fairly. Hover here to read some great verses about this.

QUESTION 3

Coretta Scott King spoke openly about her devout prayer life on many occasions, telling how her parents taught her the important practice of prayer. Which things did Coretta say characterized prayer for her?

QUESTION 4

True or False Coretta Scott King really didn’t like school or studies that much, but she pursued them because she knew they would help her in the fight for justice.

QUESTION 5

True or False When Coretta Scott first met Martin Luther King, Jr. she really didn’t want to get involved in a relationship with him.

QUESTION 6

How did Coretta finally decide what to do about the persistent man, Martin Luther King, Jr. who insisted on marrying her?

QUESTION 7

True or False The people involved in the Civil Rights movement were very smart so they relied on their intelligence to accomplish the great things they did.

QUESTION 8

When Coretta Scott King tells about the vital role that prayer played in her life and in the lives of many civil rights activists, how does she describe the practice of prayer?

Wow! Coretta Scott King lived such an extraordinary life, it’s hard to sum it up. While it is sad that she has passed away from life on this earth, it is really great to know that she is rejoicing in heaven with many of her loved ones, including Martin! And she truly is free at last!

Coretta Scott King accomplished extraordinary things in her life, but there is one thing that marked her life at every point—the habit and practice of prayer! And for that reason, if no other, she is a fantastic example for PPT Kids because we want to learn to look to God in prayer all the time. So look to Coretta as a great woman of God, and when in doubt, follow her example. And remember to check out some of the other great Black Americans who made tremendous contributions to America! That’s what Black History Month is all about!