[16] She predicted at that time that all of the "Negro leaders" would be killed and the non-leading African-Americans would agree to segregation. Maybe when I'm older I won't be able to stand Yoki, but Yolanda sounds so formal!" Garrow says his first inclination when he heard of Yolanda's death was: This is it. "[26] Coretta King wrote in her memoirs, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr., that "Martin always said that Yoki came at a time in his life when he needed something to take his mind off the tremendous pressures that bore down upon him. In 1999, she acted in Selma, Lord, Selma, about the civil rights march, and in 1996 appeared in Ghosts of Mississippi, about efforts to track down the killer of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader. The two were the same age. At the time of the honor, King said that their production company had been approached by organizations seeking to arrange special staging of the play for gang members before May 1, when the show's run would end. King's mother, Coretta Scott King, suffered a stroke before her death from cancer in 2006. I remember listening to the news, in disbelief, in the twilight hours of April 4, 1968. The other indelible image is of Mrs. King and her children. She was also on the student council. [116], Bernice King said it was "very difficult standing here blessed as her one and only sister. King became a human rights activist and actress. Yolanda King learned about racial discrimination at 3 or 4 when she was barred from an amusement park. I was just someone who loved someone, and I knew he had done great things and now people didn't appreciate it." 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,". King spoke from the cathedral's Canterbury Pulpit, the same pulpit Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from on his last Sunday sermon before his death. Legal Statement. Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father's who has remained close to the family, said Yolanda King had just spoken at an event for the American Heart Association. She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Yolanda King, the eldest daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, has died in California, family friends said on Wednesday. "[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. [36] She did admit that, had he lived or he been listened to more, "we would be in a far better place. Active human rights worker. Sometime after Martin Luther King's assassination, King told her mother "Mom, I'm not going to cry because my dad is not dead. Prior to the film's release, King expressed belief in children of the time knowing that "Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, but when it is time to talk about the facts and the history, there is not a lot of knowledge. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. 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. [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. King and her brother Martin III bragged about their selflessness at school. She also appeared in Ghosts of Mississippi and founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. All rights reserved. She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. Yolanda King, the oldest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died on May 15, 2007, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 51. On her company's Web site, King described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change. And I was happy to see that they bore no resemblance to the sad-eyed youngsters I'd seen on television during their father's services. Death of Yolanda King. There was such a need, like they were looking for a miracle. People Photos Purpose. Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". 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. With Elodia Tate, she edited a motivational book emphasizing the importance of diversity. Sharpton said Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. [15], On November 22, 1963, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, she learned of his death at school. Dexter King said of his sister, "She gave me permission. His youngest two children, Esther and Vernon, were vacationing with King and her family in Jamaica when they heard of his death. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. King made it clear that while she had not been "endeared" to the institution, she was still "grateful" for her experience. Many former classmates of both Grady High School and Smith College attended to remember her. "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," King said. hide caption. She wrote "Yolanda proved daily that it was possible to smile while wreathed in sadness. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51. While in high school, she gained lifelong friends. She appeared in numerous films and played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries King. The event was planned by survivors of the . When King was 16, she received attention in Jet in 1972, where she talked about what her father's famous name was doing for her life. Leading up to her death, she was still active in the public eye. [89], In the fall of 1995, at age 39, she joined Ilyasah Shabazz and Reena Evers in saluting their mothers as they chaired an attempt at registering one million African-American women to vote in the presidential election of 1996. ATLANTA (AP) On April 4, 1968, a movement lost its patriarch when the Rev. But the circumstances surrounding her death make people draw conclusions about her cause of death. She made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls". An important early memory was that she wanted to go to Funtown, a local amusement park, with the rest of her class, but was barred from doing so due to her race. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," King said. May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM She has mostly been in the news. Coretta had a blood clot move from her heart and lodge in an artery in her brain. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. Yolanda died in May. She also urged the audience at Ebenezer to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year in January to ask tough questions about their own beliefs on prejudice. We had cups of tea because it was so frigid that night, and then they were gone. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said. display: none; "Hey, hope you don't mind, but I brought Yoki and Marty with me," he apologized as the three swept up the stairs of my DuPont Circle townhouse. [103] King was having a conversation with her mother in her home when she stopped talking. "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 asked her mother at this time, if she should hate the man who killed her father. She was credited with having her father's sense of humor.[1]. On May 15, 2007, she told her brother Dexter that she was tired. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. 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. In the Fall of 1968, King attended Henry Grady Highschool, in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, she was president of her sophomore and junior class, and vice president of her senior class. She was 12 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. died. Coretta Scott King began to decline in health after suffering a stroke in August 2005. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke. At her father's former Atlanta church, Ebenezer Baptist, she performed a series of one-actor skits 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, Alabama. In response, she pushed for "the goal" to be "color acceptance. She was 51. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Her educational accomplishments continued when she earned a Master of Fine Arts from New York University in 1979 (via Stanford). We must cease our premature celebration [about civil rights already achieved] and get back to the struggle. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. Only a year earlier, Coretta Scott King, wife of MLK and mother to Yolanda, died from complications of ovarian cancer at the age of 78. She died on May 15, 2007 in Santa Monica, California, USA. On her company's Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change. She called for Americans to memorialize those who gave their lives for "the struggle for peace and justice. The pair performed in around 50 cities a year and did lectures together, typically in school settings. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. She was a reserved and quiet person who loved acting. [24] In February 1982, King was a speaker during the centennial of Anne Spencer's birth. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a statement. She ran out of the room, screamed "I don't want to hear it,"[24] and prayed that he would not die. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. Her death came a year after her mother died. 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." Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. No blood children, maybe, but as Yolanda pointed out in an NPR interview a few years ago, when people feel empowered, they become part of the King legacy: "I think it takes that for people to be effective change agents and to be champions of peace in their own lives. Please enter valid email address to continue. Not long after, she collapsed in the Santa Monica . #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { [24] She began speaking publicly at the age of ten and even filled in for her parents on occasion. 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? I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. When asked what kind of world she would like to live in, King said she wished "people could love everybody". Despite this wish, she acknowledged that this was of no ease and expressed happiness that her father had changed many things, and even made some people gain self-esteem. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, the Rev. Yolanda King, Actress: King. All three of her siblings lit a candle in her memory. We cannot be satisfied with a few black faces in high places when millions of our people have been locked out." Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. She called him my first buddy, saying, I was tremendously loved.. King appeared on News & Notes on January 15, 2007 to discuss her. [121] She disliked cliches used to define her father and expressed this to Attallah Shabazz, and recalled having seen a play where her father was a "wimp" and carried The Bible with him everywhere.[122]. [119] She made it clear that month that she was not trying to fill her father's footsteps, noting jokingly that "They're too big" and that she would "fall and break [her] neck". Summary . Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. Though her mother kept her nave to the controversies so she could "fulfill [her] objective, which was to do the play", that did not stop her from learning of the negativity implemented from her role years later. [28] Yolanda Denise King was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. "[54] On April 4, 1975, King joined her family in placing azaleas over her father's crypt, marking the seventh anniversary of his assassination.[55]. "[126] Like her parents and siblings, King did not publicly affiliate with a political party. After her hour-long presentation, she joined her sister and her aunt, Christine King Farris, in signing books. Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. In her teenage years, she became an effective leader of her high school class and was covered by the magazines Jet and Ebony. Memorialize Yolanda's life with photos and stories about her and the King family history and genealogy. Joseph Lowery, one of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement. "I'm Yoki," Yolanda King said, smiling. The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff on today. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963. } In January 2004, King referred to her father as a king, but not as one who "sat on a throne, but one who sat in a dark Birmingham jail. Yolanda King was born November 17, 1955, shortly before the Montgomery Bus Boycott. [112] On May 12, 2007,[107] days before her death, she spoke at St. Mary Medical Center, on behalf of the American Stroke Association. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. 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