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Black HiStOiy Month _____________
February 22, 2012
Black Women Make History Too
Coretta Scott King
was MLK’s equal
partner
M artha B i rk
We celebrated Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s
birthday in January, and
now the country has
moved into Black His­
tory Month. MLK left an enduring mark
on our hearts and souls. But he was part
of a team, and the other half of that team
— his wife Coretta Scott King — made
her own kind of history, with her husband
and without him, both before and after his
death.
Coretta Scott King was a peace activ­
ist, an advocate for children, and a
champion of the poor both before her
marriage and long after her husband's
tragic death in 1968. But because she
was the wife of a great man, her own
participation in the civil rights move­
ment is often minimized.
Before her own death in 2006, Kingjjpet
many times with biographer Dr. Barbara
by
Reynolds, one of the founding editors of
USA Today and the only woman and
African American on the paper's editorial
board.
Of the time right after MLK's assassi­
nation, Reynolds says this: "Most of the
male civil rights leaders didn't want to talk
to me as a journalist, because they were
afraid I would write something negative
(about their desire to usurp King's legacy).
But Mrs. King had nothing to hide — she
opened her life to me."
Coretta Scott King put her life on the
line every day, endured taunts and threats,
and narrowly escaped death when the
Kings' house was bombed while she was
home alone with their baby daughter.
"What people don't understand is that
Mrs. King was in the line of fire," says
Reynolds. "She was the one who an­
swered the phone when racist whites
would call, and say 'I'm going to kill you.'
This aspect of her life is not part of her
profile as a leader— but she said she could
be trusted with trouble."
After MLK's death, Mrs. King, as she
preferred to be called, traveled throughout
the world speaking out on behalf of racial
and economic equality, women's and
children’s rights, gay rights, and the needs
of the poor.
Dr. King's posthumous profile is much
larger thanks to his wife's tireless work
preserving his memory. Through seem-
Coretta Scott King
ingly endless fundraising and advocacy,
Coretta Scott King founded the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent
Social Change in Atlanta. It's a memorial
to the work they shared, and it houses the
nation's largest archive from the civil
rights movement — an archive that exists
in no small part because Coretta Scott
King took notes, kept photos, and pre­
served documents throughout the struggle.
She also spearheaded the 15-year edu­
cation and lobbying campaign to establish
her husband's birthday as a national holi­
day, now celebrated by millions world­
wide in over 100 countries.
Yet for all this, there's no mention of
Coretta Scott King at the recently dedi­
cated memorial to Dr. King on the Na­
tional Mall in Washington.
"It is an outrage that Coretta is nowhere
to be found," says Reynolds. "Telling one
story without the other creates a flaw and
an imbalance — a scar on history."
Coretta Scott King was far more than
"the woman behind the man." Never a
mere appendage, she was an equal part­
ner with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
throughout their lives. Her life and legacy
with — and without — her husband,
serve to remind us that black women
make history too.
Martha Burk is a political psycholo­
gist, women's issues expert, and director
o f the Corporate Accountability Project
fo r the National Council o f Women's Or­
ganizations.
HiIWijiOB'IIIIMMíiWiMOllll
The Incomparable Whitney Houston
An inspiration
to fulfill God-
given talents
M arc H. M orial
Billie Holiday was44.
Judy Garland was 47.
Dinah Washington was
39. Michael Jackson
was 50. Jimi Hendrix
was 28. Janis Joplin was
27. Amy Winehouse was 28. And
by
Whitney Houston lived only 48
years on this earth.
I was one of millions of people
around the world who were
stunned to learn of the untimely
death of pop-music queen Whitney
Houston. Like so many other
entertainers who died too
young, Whitney was blessed
with a divine talent, but also
haunted by a heavy load of
troubles.
Throughout much of the
80s and 90s, Whitney Houston
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reigned as the undisputed queen Whitney also excelled as an ac­
tress and had starring roles in
of pop.
With songs like “The Greatest such movies as “The Bodyguard,”
Love of All,” and “I Will Always “Waiting to Exhale” and “The
Love You,” she set a standard as Preacher’s Wife.”
an octave-shattering virtuoso who
Her final film, “Sparkle,” a re­
brought both elegance and a gos­ make of the 1976 movie about
pel-tinged intensity to her work in three sisters from Harlem who
studio and on stage. That was form a singing group, is set to be
surely a natural outgrowth of her released in August.
church choir roots and be­
ing the daughter of classy
gospel legend Cissy Hous­
ton.
Whitney got her start sing­
ing in the junior choir of New­
ark, N.J.’s New Hope Bap­
tist Church, where her
mother has served as Minis­
ter of Music for decades.
Whitney also undoubtedly Whitney Houston
benefited from the influences
It is a sad irony that Whitney
of other great musical talents in her
Houston died on the eve of this
family.
D ionne W arw ick was her year’s Grammy Awards. The
cousin, and Aretha Franklin was winner of six Grammys herself,
her Godmother. But Whitney was Whitney was preparing to attend
a pre-Grammy party given by her
a pure original.
In addition to setting the music mentor, the legendary music pro­
world on fire and influencing such ducer Clive Davis.
In her 2009 interview with
perform ers as M ariah Carey,
Beyonc6 and Jennifer Hudson, Oprah Winfrey, Whitney revealed
for the first time, some of the
most intimate details about her
troubled m arriage to Bobby
Brown, the deep feelings she had
for her mother and her daughter,
Bobbie Kristina, and her struggles
with drugs.
She candidly admitted to Oprah
that at times “It was too much. So
much to try to live up to, to try to
be, and I wanted out.”
T hrough it all,
Whitney said she was
constantly reading her
bible and trying to get
back to God. While we
are all shocked and sad­
dened by her death, I
am
hopeful
that
Whitney Houston’s life
and incomparable mu­
sical gifts will inspire
others to let nothing stand in the
way of the full and healthy ex­
pression of their God-given tal­
ents.
Our thoughts and prayers are
with Cissy, Bobbie Kristina and
the entire Houston family.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer o f the
National Urban League.