54 Quotes by Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was an influential civil rights activist and the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the prominent leader of the American civil rights movement. Following her husband's assassination in 1968, Coretta took up the mantle of activism and advocacy for civil rights and social justice causes. She played a significant role in keeping Dr.
King's legacy alive and continued to fight against racial segregation, discrimination, and poverty. Coretta founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, which became a vital institution for promoting nonviolent activism and education.
Throughout her life, she tirelessly campaigned for the advancement of civil rights, women's rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Her efforts led to the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday in the United States. Coretta Scott King's dedication to peace, justice, and equality has left a lasting impact on the world, inspiring generations to continue the struggle for a more just and inclusive society.
Coretta Scott King Quotes
It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.
Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.
Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.
Love is such a powerful force. It's there for everyone to embrace-that kind of unconditional love for all of humankind. That is the kind of love that impels people to go into the community and try to change conditions for others, to take risks for what they believe in.
Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul.
The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.
Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.
When the heart is right, the mind and the body will follow.
When you are willing to make sacrifices for a great cause, you will never be alone.
We must eliminate the gulf of mistrust and ignorance that keeps us from learning from each other.
If you give your life to a cause in which you believe, and if it is right and just, and if your life comes to an end as a result of this, then your life could not have been spent in a more redemptive way. I think that is what my husband has done.
Segregation was wrong when it was forced by white people, and I believe it is still wrong when it is requested by black people.
I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation.
Behind every good man, there's a good woman reminding you I knew you when you didn't have nothing.
Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life.
Women, in general, are not part of the corruption of the past, so they can give a new kind of leadership, a new image for mankind.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.
All we seek is an America where every person is given the chance to productively contribute to his country and where he can receive a fair and equitable share of the wealth that production creates.
I'm fulfilled in what I do. I never thought that a lot of money or fine clothes - the finer things of life - would make you happy. My concept of happiness is to be filled in a spiritual sense.
People need role models. They need to see examples of people in peoples' lives.
An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed in retaliation.
Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.
If a man had nothing that was worth dying for, then he was not fit to live.
Nelson Mandela sat in a South African prison for 27 years. He was nonviolent. He negotiated his way out of jail. His honor and suffering of 27 years in a South African prison is really ultimately what brought about the freedom of South Africa. That is nonviolence.
Isn't it strange how the leaders of nations can talk so eloquently about peace while they prepare for war? ... There is no way to make peace while preparing for war.
People have to allow themselves to be used by God and Martin [Luther King, Jr.] committed himself totally to God's will and purpose and God is always waiting for someone who is willing to do that.
If American women would increase their voting turnout by ten percent, I think we would see an end to all of the budget cuts in programs benefiting women and children.
Mama and Daddy King represent the best in manhood and womanhood, the best in a marriage, the kind of people we are trying to become.
Violence diminishes our humanity.
Without Coretta Scott King, there would not have been a Martin Luther King, Jr. in the way that we know him.
I'm more determined than ever that my husband's dream will become a reality.
Because Dr. King was human and not divine - although we think he was divine, he was just a man, an extraordinary man, but a man - and he would get depressed from time to time and disappointed about all kinds of things relative to the movement.
As one whose husband and mother-in-law have died the victims of murder and assassination, I stand firmly and unequivocally opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses. An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by a legalized murder.
When aroused the American conscience is a powerful force for reform.
When Good Friday comes, these are the moments in life when we feel there's no hope. But then, Easter comes.
It's going to take an act of Congress to deal with poverty and hunger, not only in this country, but throughout the world. We have the resources but we don't have the will.
Nonviolence is a method that transforms, first of all, the individual once you understand it and embrace it. It begins with you and, if you can, about transforming individuals so that they love unconditionally.
This was really what I was supposed to be doing, and it was a great blessing to have discovered this, and to be doing what was God's will for your life.
There is a spirit and a need and a man at the beginning of every great human advance. Every one of these must be right for that particular moment of history, or nothing happens.
I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy. The civil rights movement thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion. My husband's struggle parallels that of the gay rights movement.
You cannot believe in peace at home and not believe in international peace. A war with Iraq will increase anti-American sentiment, create more terrorists, and drain as much as 200 billion taxpayer dollars, which should be invested in human development here in America.
The greatest violence is seeing a child go to bed hungry.
The process of nonviolence is one that takes time and those of us who've suffered, who've been persecuted over the years, would like to see things change, you know, overnight.
We have an historic opportunity for a great global healing and renewal. If we will accept the challenge of nonviolent activism with faith, courage, and determination, we can bring this great vision of a world united in peace and harmony from a distant ideal into glowing reality.
How many must die before we can really have a free and true and peaceful society?
If sexual relations between consenting adults are not part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Constitution, then American democracy is in trouble.
To really know someone is to have loved and hated him in turn.
Money is necessary -- both to support a family and to advance causes one believes in.
We have to launch a national campaign against homophobia in the black community.
nonviolence first changes the individual.
Lesbian and gay people are a permanent part of the American workforce, who currently have no protection from the arbitrary abuse of their rights on the job.
A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.
I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.
The more visible signs of protest are gone, but I think there is a realization that the tactics of the late sixties are not sufficient to meet the challenges of the seventies.
― Coretta Scott King Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
