Congressman Jefferson Comments on the Death of Coretta Scott King

Congressman Jefferson Comments on the Death of Coretta Scott King

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson mourns the death of Civil Rights advocate, and widow of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King. King, 78, died Monday night in California. Jefferson released the following statement:

"Today our nation mourns the death of Coretta Scott King, a determined leader of the Civil Rights Movement whose willingness and determination to help others was unsurpassed. She will be remembered throughout the world for her dedication and commitment to the struggle for equality.

"After her husband's death, Mrs. King was more than just a grieving widow. She found the strength to forge on and fight for people all over the world in the ongoing struggle against all types of injustice.

"Mrs. King was able to keep Dr. King's dream alive for decades while creating her own legacy in the movement for equality. She spoke of his vision for a colorblind society in her speeches and shared her own vision for racial and gender equality. Mrs. King called on the wives, mothers, sisters, and aunts of American families to come together to fight the great evils of poverty, racism, and war. And, in her continued work to carry on Dr. King's legacy, she achieved her goal of having a national holiday in his honor when President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating the federal holiday in 1983.

"Mrs. King will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with her family."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/la02_jefferson/CorettaScottKing.html