She felt teenagers were confused and were using drugs as a method to escape their problems. [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". CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat" Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Al Sharpton , U.S.. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun in 1998, Ms. King said acting had liberated her, not least the parts unrelated to her family history. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Arrangements were to be announced later, the family said in a statement. Gamilah Lumumba Shabazz Gamilah was born in 1964, the year before her dad's death. She allowed me to give myself permission to be me." People Photos Purpose. This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial. Yolanda was an advocate for racial and social justice, workers' rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and general nonviolence. I remember thinking she was sparkly a good, throaty laugh, good sense of humor, the ability to dramatically capture the room's attention. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. I remember being particularly focused on one of them: Robert Kennedy was somber, even tearful at times, as he knelt and crossed himself and prayed with his wife, Ethel, before the service began. Summary . There, she joined hands with her siblings and mother along with other civil rights activists, singing We Shall Overcome. Al Sharpton called Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right.". Yolanda King's career proved equally successful as she used both entertainment and oratory to advance her family's message. However, she was still misjudged and mistrusted because of her skin color, based on perceptions founded solely upon her relationship with her father. Her mother, Coretta Scott King, died last year. 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. hide caption. In 1960, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she was immersed in social upheaval. [103] King was having a conversation with her mother in her home when she stopped talking. [30] Four days later, she and her family accompanied their mother to Memphis City Hall on her own terms, as she and her brothers had wanted to come. She became an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi," and as Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King.". "While Mrs. King was alive, the standards to which she would hold any potential life partner of any of her children would be so high as to be almost unmeetable," he speculates. display: none; 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. King was also an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence, and held memberships in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which her father co-founded in 1957 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In honor of her father, King promoted a show in Los Angeles entitled "Achieving the Dream" in 2001. FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2006, file photo, from left, the children of the Rev. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., finishes preaching at the Washington National Cathedral January 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. She served on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, was the first national Ambassador for the American Stroke Association's "Power to End Stroke" Campaign, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Human Rights Campaign, and held a lifetime membership in the NAACP. King was also an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence, and held memberships in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which her father co-founded in 1957 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls". [36], When asked about what pressures emerged from being a daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., King stated that "as soon as people heard me speak, they would compare me to my father My siblings had the same kind of pressure. [50] King would ultimately attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts after graduating from high school. During the family's interview with Mike Wallace in December 1968, Yolanda was introduced by her mother and revealed her role in keeping the family together. "She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement. 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. She also appeared in Ghosts of Mississippi and founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. [71] She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. Young said she was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway and "they were not able to revive her.". [40] At that time, King still did not know what she wanted to do with her life, but acknowledged that many wanted her to be a preacher. A flag at The King Center, which King's mother founded in 1968 and where she was a board member, was lowered to half-staff on Wednesday. [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. She was also on the board of the King Center. In 1956, a number of white supremacists bombed the King household. The King Center in Atlanta set up to preserve the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King says his oldest child, Yolanda Denise King, has died. [63] A few months after King and Shabazz met, the pair decided to collaborate on a theatrical work, resulting in Stepping into Tomorrow. During the course of her lifetime, King's name was mispronounced to the point that it bothered her. . She was 12 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. died. "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. That decade saw King's acting career take off as she appeared in ten separate projects, including Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Our Friend, Martin (1999) and Selma, Lord, Selma (1999). 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. The play was directed towards teens and focused on the 10th year reunion of six high school friends. In high school, she was president of her sophomore and junior classes and vice president of her senior class. 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. }, First published on May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM. What is the birth name of. Martin Luther King Jr. 's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. She was a young girl during his famous stay in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail. 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. There, she gave a speech and made references to her past difficult experiences when first coming to the college. Yolanda and Martin III sat nearby, numb with sadness. 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. Anyone can read what you share. Ms. King graduated from Smith College and earned a master of fine arts degree from New York University. She did not understand, and asked her mother Coretta why she was not able to go. [11] When she was 6 years old, she was saddened by classmates' remarks that her father was a "jailbird". And that's how we can now commemorate his daughter. Dexter King said of his sister, "She gave me permission. "[117], To the time of her death, King continued to deny that her father's dreams and ideals would be fulfilled during her lifetime. Yolanda King wrote and produced plays; gave speeches to groups that included elementary schoolchildren and Fortune 500 corporations; and acted in commercial movies. Please enter valid email address to continue. Yolanda King, shown here in a 2005 photograph, sought to encourage "personal growth and positive social change." Yolanda died due to a chronic heart condition in 2007. He added she was "thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama. 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. It began on Jan. 30, 1956, when Yolanda, nicknamed Yoki, was 2 months old and the familys house was bombed in the Montgomery bus boycott. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who melded her fathers message of racial equality and nonviolence with her own calling as an actor and a motivational speaker, died on Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 51. Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. In her teenage years, King preferred to go by her nickname "Yoki." Jesse Jackson stated that King "lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle. [77] On January 17, 1991, Yolanda spoke before a crowd of students at Edmonds Community College, around 200 in number. "[37] King openly stated years later that she did not hate James Earl Ray.[38]. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., Yolanda Denise King was just an infant when her home was bombed amid the turbulent civil rights era. 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. [78] She joined her mother in placing a wreath around her father's crypt. "[72] ", The Rev. Sign In . Her paternal grandfather, the Rev. Born in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. 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. There was such a need, like they were looking for a miracle. [21] At the age of eight after writing her first play,[22][23] she also enrolled in the only integrated drama school of that time. From left: Dexter King, the Rev. We compared notes about having gone to women's colleges and teased each other about the perceived weaknesses of our respective alma maters. "[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]. "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. 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). May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM ", during a celebration that marked what would have been her father's sixty-fourth birthday. [41] Her inclinations were driven to be artistic, which did not suit the political aspects of her father's life. Her deepest memories were the love of her father, who taught her to swim and playfully pummeled her but never spanked her. With Yolanda King, she also founded a group named Nucleus, Inc. in 1977. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Her teenage years were filled with more tragedies, specifically the sudden death of her uncle Alfred Daniel Williams King and the murder of her grandmother, Alberta Williams King. "[70] [85] In October, she uttered her belief that her father's dream of integration was not fully understood. The children of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine have each in their own way worked to carry on their parents' work fighting for racial equality and social justice. Her decision in 1971 to play a prostitute in a school production of Bill Manhoffs Owl and the Pussycat, which involved kissing a white man, scandalized the white and black communities. The loss has not gotten easier in 50 years, but his three surviving children each bear it on their own terms. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a statement. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. 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. At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. King appeared on News & Notes on January 15, 2007 to discuss her. She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. [114] A public memorial for Yolanda King was held on May 24, 2007, at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia. Despite this, she did voice opposition to President Ronald Reagan's reluctance to sign the law establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, her father's national holiday. Yolanda was born at St. Jude's Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama to Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr[2]., she was only two weeks old when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. It was the first time she had ever been arrested. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, and Mrs. King died last year. Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. 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. "Daughters of M.L. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi." She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." I have chosen to continue to promote 'we're one, the oneness of us, and shine the spotlight,' as my father did. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. . Soon after, she heard of the event when a news bulletin popped up while she was washing dishes. or redistributed. [68], She celebrated her father's holiday on January 16, 1986, and attended a breakfast in Chicago with Mayor Harold Washington. "[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]. She stated, "It is entirely appropriate that you would choose to focus on multiculturalism as the opening activity of Black History Month. [24], On May 15, 2007, King told her brother Dexter, that she was tired, though he thought nothing of it because of her "hectic" schedule. 225 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. (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.) "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," she said. [33] Bill Cosby flew to Atlanta after the funeral and entertained King and her siblings. Maya Angelou wrote a tribute to her, which was read during the memorial service. News & Notes remembers Yolanda King, eldest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She passed away Tuesday at the age of 51. She founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. Yolanda died in May. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength.". In the 1990s, she supported a retrial of James Earl Ray and publicly stated that she did not hate him. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength." [39] She was active in student government and drama. Ms. King was meeting her brother Dexter King at a friends home when she collapsed and died. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 and died on May 15, 2007. King's mother, Coretta Scott King, suffered a stroke before her death from cancer in 2006. She was the godmother of acclaimed actress RaVen Larrymore Kelly. It was the first and only institution where King was not harassed or mistreated because of who her father was. Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007) was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King who pursued artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking. [36] She did admit that, had he lived or he been listened to more, "we would be in a far better place. "Yolanda was lovely. Despite this, Shabazz still appeared in the state and performed in the play. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. [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. The event was planned by survivors of the . King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. [20] Soon thereafter, they would be joined by their younger brother Dexter. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King participate in a musical tribute to their mother at the new Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle," said the Rev. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. [129] On May 25, 2008, her brother Martin Luther III and his wife, Arndrea, became the parents of a baby girl and named her Yolanda Renee King, after King herself. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but think it might have been a heart problem. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," said the Rev. [24] In February 1982, King was a speaker during the centennial of Anne Spencer's birth. There, in my living room, shaking off snow and laughing, were the kids in the picture two of them, anyway. Suzan Johnson Cook was highlighted in an article written by the minister, as she dubbed her deceased longtime friend a "queen whose name was King". [22] She ranked in the top 10 percent of her class. Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. [28] ", As an actress, she appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi," and even played civil rights heroine Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King.". 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. #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Bernice King at Yolanda King Memorial May 24, 2007 DryerBuzz An Original Digital 2.67K subscribers 309K views 15 years ago When Bernice brings the word, let's just say the word is delivered.. Members of the chapter are "deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Ms. Yolanda King,'' spokeswoman Tiffany Travis said today. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. 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. [24] On January 7, 1986, Yolanda, her brother Martin Luther King III and her sister Bernice were arrested for "disorderly conduct" by officers responding to a call from a Winn Dixie market, of which had an ongoing protest against it since September of the previous year. She was one of the first black children at a previously segregated elementary school in Atlanta, where she endured racial epithets. [130] During a 2009 reunion at her alma mater Smith College, a walk was done in her memory by fellow alumnae.[131]. Martin Luther King III uttered that "Yolanda is still in business. 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. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who melded her father's. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. Heart Attack caused Yolanda King's death in 2007. Yolanda King was active in education during the start of her acting career, working as a professor for three years at Fordham University before moving to Los Angeles in 1990. Young said she was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway and "they were not able to revive her.". November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007 Santa Monica, California | Age 51 Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., dies . ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. [22] King flew to Memphis, Tennessee with her brothers and mother and participated in leading a march in Memphis with sanitation workers and civil rights leaders. On July 21, 1969, King's uncle and father's brother Alfred Daniel Williams King was found dead in the swimming pool of his home. None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. [90] King joined the rest of her family in February 1997, in advocating a retrial for James Earl Ray, the man convicted of her father's murder, having realized that "without our direct involvement, the truth will never come out. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. His youngest two children, Esther and Vernon, were vacationing with King and her family in Jamaica when they heard of his death. She called for Americans to memorialize those who gave their lives for "the struggle for peace and justice. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Many former classmates of both Grady High School and Smith College attended to remember her. However, her father reassured her as she began to cry that she was "just as good" as anyone who went to Funtown, and that, one day in the "not too distant future", she was going to be able to go to "any town" along with "all of God's children". 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