Incidents in the life of.....

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Our Ivy Beyond the Wall

Coretta Scott King will be missed. She was a mother, a wife, a lady, a fighter, a survivor. Oftentimes, we look at her as the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement simply because of whose wife she was. There was so much more to her than that. She marched beside him, sang with him, protested with him. When Dr. King died, she continued. She was still right there, being the mother, the fighter, the survivor, still marching onward, striving to not let his fight be in vain. She faught for the liberties of African Americans as well as for the liberties of the poor. She spent ten years trying to get the governmnent to recognize her husband's birthday as a national holiday, then opened The King Center in his memory to ensure that his legacy and struggle for equality was never forgotten. Our Ivy Beyond the Wall, Coretta Scott King, a woman of charcter and elegacne, is truly missed.

Here are some highlights. I may have missed some words and have some grammatical errors, but I think I got the essence of it.

Dorothy Height quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. "The black man needs the white man to free him of his spirit. The white man needs the black man to free him of his guilt."

Paraphrasing Sherry Frank, American Jewish Committee Exec. Dir. "The country lost a beloved activist. The King family lost a wonderful mother and relative. The Jewish community lost a devoted friend."

Sen. Edward Kennedy "In the face of her constant courage, unshakable faith, even Jim Crow had to yeild.

Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowry: "Who could have bought this crowd together, except Coretta? But in the morning, will words become deeds that meet needs? Leave me alone Sharpton. Shut up Jesse. What a family reunion! Rosa and Martin are just starting to talk. Martin stops listening because the wind is whispering in his ear. 'Excuse me, Rosa.' Martin begins to walk toward the pearly gates. After 40 yrs., together at last, together at last. Thank God Almighty, we are together at last."

Soror Maya Angelou: " [She was] Born in cornflower and destined to become a steel magnolia. I speak as a sister of a sister. We sat calling each other, Girl. That's a black woman thing. Even as reached our seventh decade, we still said, 'Girl!' Peace and justice should be known to everybody everywhere. I want to see a better world. I want to see some peace somewhere." They were friends friends. You could see it in her face and hear it in her expressions.

Former Pres. Jimmy Carter: Each of their (Martin and Coretta) handshakes was worth a million Yankee votes! This is to remind us that the struggle for equal rights is not over. We only have to recall the color of those in La., Al,and MS. to know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans."

Former Pres. George Bush: There was always a dignity, a wonderful grace about Coretta and the way she carried herself.

Former Pres. Bill Clinton: I am honored to be here with my president, my former presidents, and umm, ummm (Hinting at future president Hilary?) LEt's not forget that there is a woman in there. Not a symbol. A real woman who had hopes and dreams and got angry. HE was looking for a woman with beauty and character and intelligence, and she sure fit the bill. Even when she was over 75, she still fit the bill. We would have all forgiven her if she had said, I have stumbled on enough (Something I missed). I am going home to raise my kids. Nobody would have condemned her, but instead, she went to Memphis and led that march with the garbage workers. They understood that the difficulty of success does not relieve one of the obligation to try. If you want to treat Mrs. King like a role model, then model her behavior.

Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton: I remember as a college student, listening in amazement, to the news reports of this woman taking up her husbands stand. She said she was there to continue his work to make all people free not just free from obvious the oppression that one can see, truly free knowing that each of us has a personal relationship with God that can take us through (any situation?).

Malaak Shabazz: Let me mention someone no one else has. My mother and Mrs. King shared a battle with someone else, Myrlie Evers. They thought they could pull one another (Malaak and Yolanda) apart, but they said no. We are in this together. We traveled around, showing people that we could still be who we were together, merging. You aren't doing either any justice by picking one over the other (MLK or Malcolm X). As we traveled on the road together, we got to swap mothers. My mother, Mrs. King, and Myrlie Evers were sisters. They would go on retreats together. They were one a mission of loving their husbands, loving thier children, and substaining them. (I didn't do her justice. She was so passionate. I couldn't capture all of her words. I really want to meet this woman.)

I missed the rest of it. Hopefully, I will catch it tonight on CSPAN. I'm gone watch the whole thing again.

Posted by Nik :: 2/07/2006 :: 1 Comments: