Ki vette feleségül Martin Luther King-t?

Martin Luther King, Jr. (Atlanta, Georgia, 1929. január 15. – Memphis, Tennessee, 1968. április 4.) amerikai baptista lelkész, polgárjogi harcos és politikai aktivista, az afroamerikai polgárjogi mozgalom egyik kiemelkedő vezetője. Célja a fehérek és afroamerikaiak jogi egyenlőtlenségének, az afroamerikaiakkal hátrányos megkülönböztetésének megszüntetése volt. Beszédeiben, nyilatkozataiban és tetteiben mindig az erőszakmentességet hirdette, céljai eléréséért a polgári engedetlenség módszerét is alkalmazta. 1963. augusztus 28-án a Washingtoni Menetelés során megtartott Van egy álmom néven híressé vált beszéde óriási nyilvánosságot hozott a polgárjogi mozgalomnak, Kinget pedig a történelem egyik legnagyobb szónokává emelte. Martin Luther King 1968. április 4-én Memphisben (Tennessee) merénylet áldozata lett; agyonlőtték.

1964-ben ő lett a legfiatalabb férfi, aki elnyerte a Nobel-békedíjat. 1977-ben Jimmy Carter elnök posztumusz kitüntette a Szabadság Elnöki Érdeméremmel. 1986-ban minden év januárjának harmadik hétfőjét Martin Luther King Nap néven ünnepnapnak nyilvánították az Amerikai Egyesült Államokban. 2004-ben az amerikai Kongresszus posztumusz kitüntette a Kongresszusi Aranymedállal.

Gellért Hugó magyar származású festőművész portrét készített róla.

Coretta Scott King (née Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-American equality, she was a leader for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. King was also a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work. King met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston. They both became increasingly active in the American civil rights movement.

King played a prominent role in the years after her husband's assassination in 1968, when she took on the leadership of the struggle for racial equality herself and became active in the Women's Movement. King founded the King Center, and sought to make his birthday a national holiday. She finally succeeded when Ronald Reagan signed legislation which established Martin Luther King Jr., Day on November 2, 1983. She later broadened her scope to include both advocacy for LGBTQ rights and opposition to apartheid. King became friends with many politicians before and after Martin's death, including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Robert F. Kennedy. Her telephone conversation with John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential election has been credited by historians for mobilizing African-American voters.

In August 2005, King suffered a stroke which paralyzed her right side and left her unable to speak; five months later, she died of respiratory failure due to complications from ovarian cancer. Her funeral was attended by some 10,000 people, including U.S. presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. She was temporarily buried on the grounds of the King Center until being interred next to her husband. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame, the National Women's Hall of Fame, and was the first African American to lie in state at the Georgia State Capitol. King has been referred to as "First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement".