Coretta Scott King

Hello. My name is Coretta. I was born in a state called Alabama in the year 1927. When I was a little girl, I lived on a farm with my family. I loved helping my family with chores and going to school to learn new things. But my very favorite thing to do was sing. Singing songs made my heart feel so happy and full of joy. Music felt like a warm hug. I would dream about growing up and sharing my singing voice with the whole world. I wanted everyone to feel the hope that music gave to me.

When I grew up and went to college, I met a wonderful man. His name was Martin Luther King Jr. We fell in love and in 1953, we got married. Martin and I both had a very big dream. We wanted the world to be a fair and kind place for every single person, no matter what they looked like or where they came from. We used our voices to speak up for people who were not being treated kindly. We always chose to use our words with love and peace, never with anger, to help make our dream come true for everyone.

Even after Martin was gone, I kept working hard to make our dream real. In 1968, I started a special place called The King Center. It is a place to teach everyone about living together in peace and being fair to one another. I lived to be 78 years old. I spent my whole life sharing a message of hope and love. I hope you always remember that your voice is powerful, too, and you can use it to fill the world with so much kindness.