The United States seemed poised for a new day in 1963, when the March on Washington drew a quarter million people. And yet, throughout the intervening fifty-seven years, Martin Luther King Jr’s dream has remained elusive. George Floyd’s killing by police, two weeks ago, and the protests that have erupted in its wake, could not make that any clearer.  Over the next several weeks, we will feature some of the extraordinary voices from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s that are in the audio archive of the Academy of Achievement.  Today, we bring you our episode on Coretta Scott King. It originally posted in January of 2016. 

As Mrs. King says, she wasn’t just married to Martin Luther King Jr., she was married to the cause. Their partnership in life, in faith, and in the struggle for justice and human rights, changed the world. In this episode, Mrs. King describes her early aspirations in music, her courtship with Martin, and her courage in the face of violence. 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016-2020