She was just 10 weeks old when the King family home was bombed in Jan. 30, 1956, as her father attended a boycott rally. She was born two weeks before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public transit bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. } To Yolanda, it seemed as if adults naturally went to jail occasionally, because all those she knew seemed to do that. King was cremated,[115] in accordance with her wishes. She was a reserved and quiet person who loved acting. Still Far From Living King's Dream, His Daughter Says", "LOVE WILL LIGHT WAY, KING'S DAUGHTER SAYS", "25th anniversary of death of Martin Luther King, Jr. is observed across USA", "KING'S DAUGHTER TO INTERPRET DREAM FOR DENVER", "WATTS: Show Stirs Memories for King's Daughter", "Daughter Yolanda King And Sinfonietta Honor Her Dad", "King Family Makes Appeal For Trial for James Earl Ray", "More Need To Hear Yolanda King's 'Music', "King's daughter recalls father's message", "King's 'Dream' Endures in Mix of Music, Drama", "Yolanda King, 51; actress, child of civil rights leader", "Coretta Scott King to Remain Hospitalized at Least a Week", "Relative Says Mrs. King Had Minor Stroke", "Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., dies", "Eldest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. dies", "Yolanda King's body brought back to Atlanta", "King's Dream Of Unity Reflected In Celebrations", "King's dream still worth pursuing, daughter says", "Civil-rights leader's daughter to speak", "King's Daughter Urges Students To Get Involved", "Task Force mourns death of Yolanda King 'An unwavering voice for equality and justice', "Out & Equal Mourns the Passing of Civil Rights Leader", "Yolanda King's sudden death shocks family, friends", "After 'March', feeling hopeful about the 'Dream', In Black America; Yolanda King: Understanding The Black Struggle,, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yolanda_King&oldid=1136984705, Felecia Hunter, in the 1978 television miniseries, Melina Nzeza as a child and Ronda Louis-Jeune as an adult, in the 2013 television movie, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 04:20. [12] After having not seen her father for five weeks while he was in jail, she finally was able to meet with him alongside both of her brothers for less than half an hour. When asked by a young boy what she remembered most about her father, she admitted that her father was not able to spend much time with her and the rest of her family. Bernice A. The only reason why Black History Month was created and still exists is because America is still struggling and trying to come to grips, come to terms with the diversity of its people. In the early hours of May 19, 2007, King's body was brought to Atlanta, Georgia by private plane belonging to Bishop Eddie Long. "Daughters of M.L. King also voiced her dislike of the assumption that she would behave just like her mother and father, and the difficulty of being perceived as not being someone others could talk to. She stated in 2000 to USA Today, that her acting "allowed me to find an expression and outlet for the pain and anger I felt about losing my father,". It's a dream about freedomfreedom from oppression, from exploitation, from poverty the dream of a nation and a world where each and every child will have the opportunity to simply be the very best that they can be." This, and other experiences, prompted a 7-year-old Yolanda to tell her friends (via Stanford), "Look, all I want is to just be treated like a normal child.". King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. On January 15, 1997, she spoke at Florida Memorial College and expressed what she believed her father would feel if "he knew that people were taking a day off in his memory to do nothing". Yolanda King is seen in a 2006 file photo. Her death comes little more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King. [25], She kicked off Martin Luther King Jr. Day by starting a week-long celebration on January 12, 1987, and talked to students about opportunities that they had at that point which their parents and grandparents did not have. [63][64] The theater company was based in New York City and Los Angeles and focused on addressing the issues that their fathers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, spoke of in their lifetimes. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. All rights reserved. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, and Mrs. King died last year. [79] King stressed in 1992 that love would help people make their mark on the world. The event marked 57 years since King Jr delivered. / CBS/AP. [84] During her speech, she mentioned that the fact that the poverty line in America among children had nearly tripled and urged people to "reach out" and "do what you can". Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. When the Associated Press asked how she was dealing with her mother's death, she said(via NPR), "I connected with her spirit so strongly. [25] Her memories of her father prompted her to state that he "believed we were all divine. The next year, Ms. Kings uncle A. D. King, her fathers sole brother, accidentally drowned. He had come up for the festivities, and he had two friends with him. Please enter valid email address to continue. King outlived her mother by only 16 months, succumbing to complications related to a chronic heart condition on May 15, 2007. She took classes taught by Manning Marable and Johnnella Butler, and became satisfied with her choice of a college. (That moment would be captured for posterity by Moneta Sleet Jr., who photographed the funeral for Ebony and Jet; he would later be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the mother-daughter portrait of grief.) [103] King was having a conversation with her mother in her home when she stopped talking. Market data provided by Factset. November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007 Santa Monica, California | Age 51 Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., dies . Yolanda Denise King, who was born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., lived virtually her entire life in the maelstrom of the civil rights revolution that her father and mother, Coretta Scott King, helped lead. In a twenty-four-minute-long speech, she brought up the presidential election of that year, and also quoted the words of Bobby Kennedy by recalling his line which he took from George Bernard Shaw, that of "Some men see things as they are and say why? When asked about how she was faring following her mother's death, Yolanda responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. [29] King complimented her mother as a "brave and strong lady," leading to a hug between them. [102] During the fall of 2004 she played Mama in "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts at Cornell University. She complimented her mother on her achievements and her mother spoke of her in a positive light, as well. She returned to Smith College on January 26, 1989. accessed ), memorial page for Yolanda Denise King (17 Nov 1955-15 May 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19405381; . From left: Dexter King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. , Rev. She was also subject to some harassment by her classmates, describing it as the "era when students were making demands and many black students were closer to the teachings of Malcolm X, or what they thought were his teachings." [39] During a Sunday visit to Church, King was forced to stand before the congregation and explain her actions. As she said during an interview, "I prefer Yoki. [110], She preached in January 2007 to an audience in Ebenezer Baptist Church urging them to be an oasis for peace and love, as well as to use her father's holiday as starting ground for their own interpretations of prejudice. But acting, I could be zany, silly, sometimes the foolish person that I am. She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Ric Feld/AFP/Getty Images When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. When her father was assassinated on April 4, 1968, the 12-year-old King showed her composure during the public funeral and mourning events. Yolanda, from your one and only, I thank you for being a sister and for being a friend." Being the oldest, she had to watch her three younger siblings; Martin Luther King III, Dexter King and Bernice King and referred to the three as independent when she watched them whenever their mother went out of town. She felt teenagers were confused and were using drugs as a method to escape their problems. Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's activism with her own artistic pursuits. Alongside the physician that took care of her mother, Dr. Maggie Mermin and her sister, Yolanda told the press that her mother was making progress on a daily basis and was expected to make a full recovery. We had cups of tea because it was so frigid that night, and then they were gone. Yolanda King's career proved equally successful as she used both entertainment and oratory to advance her family's message. He told her that there were many whites who were not racist and wanted her to go but there were many who were and did not want her to go. She was also on the student council. . [71] By the time she was an adult, she had grown to become a supporter of gay rights and an ally to the LGBT community, as was her mother. It was the first and only institution where King was not harassed or mistreated because of who her father was. Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. "[24] King appeared in the film Selma, Lord, Selma, based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches as Miss Bright. "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," said Yolanda, urging those who honor the Kings' work to question their own beliefs on prejudice and be a personal force for peace and love. She was the godmother of acclaimed actress RaVen Larrymore Kelly. [97] King and Elodia Tate co-edited the book Open My Eyes, Open My Soul: Celebrating Our Common Humanity,[98][99] published by McGraw-Hill in 2003. Yolanda Denise King, 51, the eldest daughter of the late civil rights leader Rev. [76] King and Shabazz had planned the play months before the voters of the state rejecting the holiday, and King prepared a statement which solidified her reasons for supporting the boycott. [114] A public memorial for Yolanda King was held on May 24, 2007, at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the most visible and outspoken among the Kings' four children during activities honoring this year's Martin Luther King Day in January, the first since Coretta Scott King's death. I don't have to try and prove anything to anyone anymore. [32] After the funeral, she was visited by classmates from Spring Street Middle School with flowers and cards. None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. Arrangements were to be announced later, the family said in a statement. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. Born 1950 and died 2007. . In 1979, Yolanda met Attallah Shabazz, the eldest daughter of Malcolm X,[60] after arrangements had been made by Ebony Magazine to take a photograph of the two women together. Father's death: 1968 Teenage years and high school: 1968-1972 Early adulthood College: 1972-1976 . Her career in acting kept her in the realm of civil rights. [93] During a presentation in May 2000, King was asked if the human race would ever become "color blind". Coretta Scott King began to decline in health after suffering a stroke in August 2005. [3] Yolanda and her mother were not harmed. "[109] She found her mother's personal papers in her home. She wrote "Yolanda proved daily that it was possible to smile while wreathed in sadness. She portrayed Rosa Parks, who sparked the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her bus seat in a miniseries, King (1978), and Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X, in Death of a Prophet (1981). King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. May 24, 2007 #1 A friend of mines sent me these photos, so I cannot verify the authenticity.I think she looks beautiful. "[117], To the time of her death, King continued to deny that her father's dreams and ideals would be fulfilled during her lifetime. "[88] She honored her father in 1995 by performing in the Chicago Sinfonietta in the play "A Lincoln Portrait", in which she was the narrator. She then toured the country with the Christian Theater Artist Company, which she helped found. In 1978 she starred as Rosa Parks in the TV miniseries King (based on her father's life and released on DVD in 2005). She stroked her youngest child, Bernice, as the preschooler raised sad eyes to her mother and looked around in wonder at all the strangers in the church that had been home to three generations of Kings. "[72] Yolanda King, 51, Actor and Dr. King's Daughter, Dies By Douglas Martin May 17, 2007 Yolanda King, the eldest child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech . They look at me when I'm talking as if this is science fiction. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said. "[73] At this point in her life, King also served as director of cultural affairs for the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and was tasked with raising and directing funds for all artistic events.[74]. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength." She recalled having met a friend that was scared of being acquainted with her, because of her father's identity and expressed her thoughts in the colleges she wished to attend. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. I remember thinking she was sparkly a good, throaty laugh, good sense of humor, the ability to dramatically capture the room's attention. [28] Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963. Soon after, she heard of the event when a news bulletin popped up while she was washing dishes. "[101] "I struggled with a lot of the legacy for a long time, probably actually into my 30s before I really made peace with it," Yolanda stated in 2005 on "Western Skies", a public radio show based in Colorado. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. ", during a celebration that marked what would have been her father's sixty-fourth birthday. Share Memory. Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob arrives, Oops! At her father's former Atlanta church, Ebenezer Baptist, she performed a series of one-actor skits on King Day this year that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala. She also urged the audience at Ebenezer to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year to ask tough questions about their own beliefs on prejudice. At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. And that's how we can effectively commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.". Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. "[92], King attended and spoke at the Human Rights Campaign Detroit Gala Dinner of 2000. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. She held membership at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her father helped found in 1957, and she was a notable advocate for non-violence. King called her father's name and having to live up to it a "challenge" and recalled a friend when she first met a friend of hers, who believed she could not say anything to King but after beginning to know her, realized that she was "no worse than my other friends" and she "could say anything" to her. She called for Americans to memorialize those who gave their lives for "the struggle for peace and justice. Blame the Federal Reserve. In 1966, Yolanda listened to a speech her father gave when he was addressing a rally. An alumna of Smith College after graduating in 1976, she was the subject of an essay among the "remarkable women" during a celebration during the college's one hundred and twenty-fifth year[56] and she was a member of the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (the official national memorial to her father) and was founding Director of the King Center's Cultural Affairs Program. In the 1990s, she supported a retrial of James Earl Ray and publicly stated that she did not hate him. [61] Both were worried that they would not like each other due to their fathers' legacies. [39] She was active in student government and drama. "[127] Joseph Lowery stated; "She was a princess and she walked and carried herself like a princess. In a statement, Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and a veteran of the civil rights movement, said that being Dr. Kings daughter was to carry an extra burden. "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle," said the Rev. She was 51. She was 51 King. [66], She showed dissatisfaction with her "generation" on January 20, 1985, and referred to them as being "laid-back and unconcerned", and "forgetting the sacrifices that allowed them to get away with being so laid-back". 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