From the 40s: King's Queen

The Civil Rights Movement was a series of worldwide political movements aimed at gaining equality before the law. These movements were executed in many forms, usually in nonviolent forms of resistance, but in some instances, civil unrest and rebellion occurred as well. Although this movement and the many countries who participated in this process didn’t achieve all of their goals, the movement did lead to improvements in the legal rights of previously oppressed groups of people.

"The African American struggle for freedom and equality... was a struggle not just for individual leaders, however charismatic, but of ordinary men and women who found the courage and dignity to demand change."[1]

Many of the activists and leaders who participated in the movement have been people like Martin Luther King Jr., Stokley Carmichael, Jesse James, and Malcolm X. However, there were many influential women who were involved in the movement and its progression. More specifically, the participation of Coretta Scott King in the movement is very interesting. Coretta Scott King was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. and a civil rights leader. Although Coretta was interested in being a more public figure, her husband had conflicting feelings.

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Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1965

King acknowledged that his wife was a huge part of his success stating: “I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neither life nor work would bring fulfillment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well-ordered home where Christian love is a reality.”[2] However he had a hard time accepting Coretta’s desire to be more involved in the movement because he wanted her to be home raising their children. This seems slightly contradictory considering what they were all striving to achieve, but despite these setbacks Coretta did actively participate in the movement. Coretta was an influential character in the movement in the 50s and 60s and she even became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement after the assassination of her husband.