First Rosa Parks. Now Coretta Scott King. This week the nation mourns the loss of a second leader from the civil rights movement in just three months.

Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died at age 78 in a private hospital in Mexico after a lifetime of work for nonviolent change and six months of failing health.

In both efforts, she inspired the nation with her dignity, grace and courage.

Rosa Parks was often called the “mother of the civil rights movement,” but Coretta King was its “first lady.”

After Martin Luther King was killed in 1968, she not only carried on his work seeking racial and economic justice, but became an influential leader herself.

She marched for the rights of African Americans and women, was arrested protesting racial apartheid in South Africa and led the effort to make the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday.

She also founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and sought to promote racial understanding through the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Awards for children’s books.

Her death and that of Parks in late October end two chapters in black history and raise questions about future African American leadership.

“There is a vacuum,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who worked with the Kings as a young man. “These giants sowed seeds … but their work is unfinished. And so a new generation must step up to the plate.”

Who will lead?

Some of today’s black leaders are in politics: Condoleezza Rice is secretary of state and talked about as a Republican presidential candidate, Barack Obama is a rising star for the Democrats and Bruce Gordon is the NAACP’s new president.

But black leaders of the future may come from other fields. Russell Simmons, for example, has used his fame in hip-hop music to promote voting and financial literacy. And Oprah Winfrey influences millions of people on everything from books to social issues through her television show.

Education & ambition

From an early age, Coretta Scott King realized education was the way to achieve a better life.

As a child in Alabama she walked several miles a day to a one-room school, and she later graduated first in her high school class. She went on to Antioch College in Ohio and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she met her future husband.

A mother of four, she was a teacher all her life. The ALA book program, for example, honors African American authors and illustrators whose works teach young readers understanding and appreciation of all cultures.

This year’s winners are “Day of Tears” by Julius Lester and “Rosa” by illustrator Bryan Collier. Past winners have included “Slam!” and “Now Is Your Time!” by Walter Dean Myers, “Bronx Masquerade” by Nikki Grimes and “Ellington Was Not a Street” by Kadir A. Nelson and Ntozake Shange.

1. Coretta Scott King spent a lifetime working on issues that changed American society. What are the most important issues facing the nation today? As a class make a master list of issues and give reasons each is important. Then take a class vote to rank them in order of importance. Finally, in the spirit of Coretta Scott King, brainstorm ways students or their families could work to address these issues in the community or the nation.


2. Civil rights leaders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman John Lewis are growing older, and it’s not clear who will be tomorrow’s top African American leaders. In the newspaper, find African Americans who are demonstrating leadership in their field. Pick one you think could be an important leader in 10 years and write a paragraph explaining your choice.


3. As the wife of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King had a complicated and important role in the civil rights movement. Like other women of the 1950s and 1960s, she had to balance her responsibilities as a wife and mother with her work for civil rights. In the newspaper find a woman who is successful in her work today. Write a paragraph describing different priorities she might have to juggle in her life.


4. When a great leader like Coretta Scott King dies, communities look for ways to honor the person. Look at advertisements in the newspaper to see how they express messages. Then design an ad to honor Coretta Scott King.