Happy Birthday! 15 Coretta Scott King Quotes That Will Brighten Your Day was originally published on newsone.com
1. On Activism & Politics: “Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.”
2. Maya Angelou On Coretta: “Many times on those late after — evenings she would say to me, “Sister, it shouldn’t be an ‘either-or’, should it? Peace and justice should belong to all people, everywhere, all the time. Isn’t that right?” And I said then and I say now, “Coretta Scott King, you’re absolutely right. I do believe that peace and justice should belong to every person, everywhere, all the time.”
3. On Fighting The Struggle: “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”
4. On Her Purpose: “I always felt that what was happening in Montgomery was part of God’s will and purpose, and we were put there to be in the forefront of that struggle, and it wasn’t just a struggle relegated to Montgomery, Alabama or the South, but that it had worldwide implications. And I felt, really, a sense of fulfillment that I hadn’t felt before, that this was really what I was supposed to be doing, and it was a great blessing to have discovered this, and to be doing what was God’s will for your life.”
5. On Life: “I’m fulfilled in what I do. I never thought that a lot of money or fine clothes – the finer things of life – would make you happy. My concept of happiness is to be filled in a spiritual sense.”
6. On Haters: “Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.”
7. On MLK: “I don’t think that my husband, although he said he was going to go back south and fight to change the system — and he was thinking about not just in Alabama or in Georgia, but he was talking about making our society more inclusive, changing the system so that everybody could participate — although he talked about that at that time, we never dreamed that we would have an opportunity, that we would be projected into the forefront of the struggle as we were. We were just going to work from, as he said, a Black Baptist Church pulpit. That was the freest place in the society at that time, but we had no idea what God had in store for us. And I do believe it was divine intervention that we were thrust into the forefront of the struggle.”
8. On The Strength Of Communities: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members … a heart of grace and a soul generated by love.”
9. On Women’s Voting Rights: “If American women would increase their voting turnout by ten percent, I think we would see an end to all of the budget cuts in programs benefiting women and children.”
10. On Finding Her Purpose After MLK’s Death: “I prayed that God would give me the direction for my life, to give me the strength to do what it was, and the ability to do what it was that he had called me to do. And I was trying to seek, ‘What is it that I’m supposed to do, now that Martin is no longer here?'”
11. On Juggling Motherhood & Fighting For Freedom: “People asked me how was I able to do this and raise four children at the same time. I can only reply that when God calls you to a great task, he provides you with the strength to accomplish what he has called you to do. Faith and prayer, family and friends were always available when I needed them, and of course Martin and I always were there for each other.”
12. On LBGT Rights: “Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.”
13. Bernice King On Her Mother: “My mother refused to be intimidated by the many threats, acts of violence, having her home bombed on two occasions, or even the assassination of her husband. Never did she waver from her and my father’s shared determination that America must honor its sacred promise of equality and justice for citizens of every race.”
14. MLK On Coretta: “My devoted wife has been a constant source of consolation to me through all the difficulties. In the midst of the most tragic experiences, she never became panicky or over-emotional. I have come to see the real meaning of that rather trite statement: a wife can either make or break a husband. My wife was always stronger than I was through the struggle…Corrie proved to be that type of wife with qualities to make a husband when he could have been so easily broken. In the darkest moments, she always brought the light of hope. I am convinced that if I had not had a wife with the fortitude, strength, and calmness of Corrie, I could not have withstood the ordeals and tensions surrounding the movement.”
15. On Finding Peace: “There is a spirit and a need and a man at the beginning of every great human advance. Every one of these must be right for that particular moment of history, or nothing happens.”
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