funeral in the US town of Atlanta of civil rights activist Coretta Scott King who till the last moment carried on the dream of equality of her killed husband, Martin Luther King Jr.
She died last week at the age of 78 after battling ovarian cancer and the effects of a stroke. Since her husband’s assassination in 1968, King had fought for human rights. She reaffirmed her long-standing opposition to apartheid, participating in a series of sit-in protests in Washington that prompted nationwide demonstrations against South African racial policies.
King also drew criticism from conservative groups by her opposition to capital punishment and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Coretta King was reportedly also a vocal advocate of women’s rights and the integration of lesbian and gay people in different areas of society, and AIDS/HIV prevention.
However Christians have said she will mostly be remembered for her tireless efforts to fight injustice. "She was truly the first lady of the human rights movement," Rev. Al Sharpton said recently in a written statement.
GOVERNMENT CRITICIZED
He and Reverend Jesse Jackson reportedly criticized the government and public figures Monday, February 6, for allegedly trying to make the King legacy their own while doing nothing for world peace or poor black Americans. "We can’t let them take her from us and reduce her to their trophy and not our freedom fighter," Jackson reportedly said.
At Tuesday’s ceremony the crowd stood as King’s four children walked into New Birth Missionary Baptist Church with Bush and former presidents Clinton, Bush and Carter.
"I’ve come today to offer the sympathy of our entire nation at the passing of a woman who
worked to make our nation whole," President George W. Bush said.
"Coretta Scott King not only secured her husband’s legacy, she built her own. Having loved a leader, she became a leader, and when she spoke, Americans listened closely," he added.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin stressed that King spoke out, not just against racism, but against "the senselessness of war and the solutions for poverty."
LIBERTY SONG
"She sang for liberation, she sang for those who had no earthly reason to sing a song," with a voice that was heard "from the tintop roofs of Soweto to the bomb shelters of Baghdad," Franklin recalled.
"The last stanza and highest note of Coretta King’s freedom song remains to be sung," the mayor said.
"She’s gathered us here today from all walks of life and all persuasions to lift our voices in a song of freedom, equality, social and economic justice, not just for our own sake but for the sake of the children the world over."
President Bush ordered flags over all US government buildings to fly at half-staff in honor of Coretta Scott King. Monday, February 5, mourners were seen attending an emotionally charged memorial service at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King’s slain husband preached during the 1960s.
Tuesday’s funeral ceremony was held on the outskirts of Atlanta, in the southeastern US state of Georgia, in New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a large congregation where Mrs. King’s youngest daughter, Bernice, is a minister.
160,000 MOURNERS
Earlier over 160,000 mourners reportedly waited in long lines to pay their respects at public viewings since King’s body was returned to Georgia– first during the weekend at the Georgia Capitol, where King became the first woman and the first black person to lie in honor there, later on Monday, February 5, at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband preached in the 1960s, and finally at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday morning, February 6.
At one point a young child sand Amazing Grace, as thousands of people waited to see King for the last time. "There’s one word to describe going to go see Coretta — historic. It’s good to finally see her at peace," said Robert Jackson, a 34-year-old financial consultant from Atlanta whose 10-year-old daughter, Ebony, persuaded him to take her to the church, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
After the funeral, King’s body was to be placed in a crypt near her husband’s tomb at the King Center, which she built to promote his memory.
Between the tombs is the eternal flame that was placed there years ago in Martin Luther King Jr.’s honor. On the crypt, inscribed in black, is the Bible passage First Corinthians 13:13, which reads: "And now abide Faith, Hope, Love, These Three; but the greatest of these is Love." (With reports from the United States and BosNewsLife Research).
