[63][64] The theater company was based in New York City and Los Angeles and focused on addressing the issues that their fathers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, spoke of in their lifetimes. She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. [86], On February 1, 1994, King attempted to speak before a diverse class of students at North Central College. She became an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi," and as Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King.". May 24, 2007 #1 A friend of mines sent me these photos, so I cannot verify the authenticity.I think she looks beautiful. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The event was planned by survivors of the . Born in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. "[87] In July 1994, after seeing some photographs of her father prior to his death, Yolanda lamented that "this [had] brought back a lot of memories. Numerous dignitaries from around the world crowded into the dark wood pews at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. To Yolanda, it seemed as if adults naturally went to jail occasionally, because all those she knew seemed to do that. "[37] King openly stated years later that she did not hate James Earl Ray.[38]. [32] After the funeral, she was visited by classmates from Spring Street Middle School with flowers and cards. That decade saw King's acting career take off as she appeared in ten separate projects, including Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Our Friend, Martin (1999) and Selma, Lord, Selma (1999). Al Sharpton , U.S.. [110], She preached in January 2007 to an audience in Ebenezer Baptist Church urging them to be an oasis for peace and love, as well as to use her father's holiday as starting ground for their own interpretations of prejudice. After her hour-long presentation, she joined her sister and her aunt, Christine King Farris, in signing books. One of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement, the Rev. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King participate in a musical tribute to their mother at the new Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. [76] King and Shabazz had planned the play months before the voters of the state rejecting the holiday, and King prepared a statement which solidified her reasons for supporting the boycott. Wage growth is slowing. (That moment would be captured for posterity by Moneta Sleet Jr., who photographed the funeral for Ebony and Jet; he would later be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the mother-daughter portrait of grief.) She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. But walking through the first part of the exhibit I felt that terror. In high school, she was president of her sophomore and junior classes and vice president of her senior class. What is the birth name of. Blame the Federal Reserve. Yolanda King wrote and produced plays; gave speeches to groups that included elementary schoolchildren and Fortune 500 corporations; and acted in commercial movies. The next year, Ms. Kings uncle A. D. King, her fathers sole brother, accidentally drowned. When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. She held membership at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her father helped found in 1957, and she was a notable advocate for non-violence. "Volunteers and staff of the American Heart Association will hold the Power of Legacy dinner on Saturday evening, which will pay special tribute to King and her legacy.''. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., finishes preaching at the Washington National Cathedral January 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. Yolanda King would have been 51 years old at the time of death or 59 years old today. Yolanda King, the oldest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died on May 15, 2007, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 51.Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's activism with her own artistic pursuits. [18] In 1964, upon learning her father would receive the Nobel Peace Prize, she asked her mother what her father was going to do with the money he was receiving in addition to the award. When asked about how she was faring following her mother's death, Yolanda responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. A few days later, we were glued to the television as we watched his funeral. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. She was a young girl during his famous stay in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 and died on May 15, 2007. Her mother started to realize that Yolanda had become more aware of the possibility that her father could be killed as well. . display: none; Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on a hotel balcony in Memphis. By the time she was an adult, she had grown to become a supporter of gay rights and an ally to the LGBT community, as was her mother. Steve Klein, a spokesman for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, said the cause of death had not been determined but seemed related to cardiopulmonary problems. I dream things that never were and say why not?". I have chosen to continue to promote 'we're one, the oneness of us, and shine the spotlight,' as my father did. "[73] At this point in her life, King also served as director of cultural affairs for the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and was tasked with raising and directing funds for all artistic events.[74]. Yolanda Denise King, who was born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., lived virtually her entire life in the maelstrom of the civil rights revolution that her father and mother, Coretta Scott King, helped lead. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect She stroked her youngest child, Bernice, as the preschooler raised sad eyes to her mother and looked around in wonder at all the strangers in the church that had been home to three generations of Kings. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. She just moved upstairs." She complimented her mother on her achievements and her mother spoke of her in a positive light, as well. She was 51. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch. Photos honoring the life of Yolanda King from Santa Monica, California - ADVERTISEMENT - Play Music Pause Music Tweet; Help | Login | Sign Up; . Martin Luther King Jr., died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 51. She felt teenagers were confused and were using drugs as a method to escape their problems. Yolanda King's bio. [10], Her mother referred to her as being a confidant during the time following her husband's assassination. The play was directed towards teens and focused on the 10th year reunion of six high school friends. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. } Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. He had come up for the festivities, and he had two friends with him. King called her father's name and having to live up to it a "challenge" and recalled a friend when she first met a friend of hers, who believed she could not say anything to King but after beginning to know her, realized that she was "no worse than my other friends" and she "could say anything" to her. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun in 1998, Ms. King said acting had liberated her, not least the parts unrelated to her family history. None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. Her career in acting kept her in the realm of civil rights. Market data provided by Factset. King was the first national ambassador to the anti-stroke campaign and she helped spread the word about risk factors and warning signs of stroke, Davis said. Yolanda King, the eldest child of the Rev. She stated in 2000 to USA Today, that her acting "allowed me to find an expression and outlet for the pain and anger I felt about losing my father,". Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. The statement was made while she was in the presence of 800 people who gathered to honor her father at the Everett Theatre. "[109] She found her mother's personal papers in her home. Joseph Lowery, said Wednesday he was stunned and saddened by the news of King's death. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a statement. Father's death: 1968 Teenage years and high school: 1968-1972 Early adulthood College: 1972-1976 . ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. The death comes just over a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King a civil rights leader in her own right at the age of 78, of complications from ovarian cancer, and after a battle with the effects from a stroke. In a statement, Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia and a veteran of the civil rights movement, said that being Dr. Kings daughter was to carry an extra burden. [33] Bill Cosby flew to Atlanta after the funeral and entertained King and her siblings. ", The Rev. In the 1990s, she supported a retrial of James Earl Ray and publicly stated that she did not hate him. Four days later, she and her brothers accompanied their mother to appear at Memphis City Hall. The movement was in her DNA. [111] She spoke on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2007 to attendees at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and stated: "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other,". Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. [36], When asked about what pressures emerged from being a daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., King stated that "as soon as people heard me speak, they would compare me to my father My siblings had the same kind of pressure. [25] Her memories of her father prompted her to state that he "believed we were all divine. From left: Dexter King, the Rev. Her death comes little more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King. And that's how we can now commemorate his daughter. King, Malcolm X Tour With Play That Boosts Self Improvement", Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, "Yolanda King's Stage Direction; Using Theater to Fulfill Her Mission-and Her Father's Mission", "Coretta Scott King biography on Achievement.org", "King's Daughter Urges Cultures To Blend Talents", "Dr. King's 3 Children Visit Him; He Is Allowed Out of Jail Cell; Wife Says They 'Accept' His Absence From Home as in Aid of Negroes", "Dr. MLK speaks to his daughter abt Racism "Fun Town", "JFK's Still-Vibrant Example Continues to Inspire Millions", "Nobel's $$$ and Cents Interest King's Daughter", "Yolanda King, actor and Dr. Martin Luther King's Daughter, dies at 51", "Yolanda King helps others live their dreams", "Yoda King, 51; Child of Civil Rights Leader", "King's Daughter Says Poverty, War Top Issues", "Mrs. Kennedy Visits Mrs. King And 4 Children Before Funeral", "King's Kids Assured Education by Belafonte", "Dr. King's Father Leads Silent Prayer at Rights Leader's Grave", "The Vision Marches On With Martin Luther King Jr.'s Children", "Yolanda King, 51; Child of Civil Rights Leader", "King's Daughter Tells What His Famous Name is Doing to Her Life", "Yolanda King Uses Spotlight As Tool For Change", "Dr. King's Family Observes 7th Anniversary of Slaying", "Actress, Producer, Author Yolanda King '76 Dies", "Yolanda King, daughter of MLK, dies at age 51", "King, Malcom X kin get their act together", "King, Malcolm X Daughters' Play Will Be Staged", "Malcolm X's, King Children Are Soul Mates", "NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Dr. King's Daughter Assails Her Generation", "Yolanda King, Harold Washington on Achievement Awards", "REAGAN TELLS PUPILS OF STRUGGLE WON BY DR. KING", "Black History Parade, King Speech Draw Thousands", "Daughters of King, Malcolm X Also Have a Message", "Son Dexter To Take Reign of The King Center in Atlanta", "2 Black Leaders' Daughters May Ignore Arizona Boycott", "Yolanda King Cancels Appearance in Arizona", "U.S. She was 51 King. The four King children gathered at the February 2006 funeral of their mother, Coretta Scott King. She was one of the first black children at a previously segregated elementary school in Atlanta, where she endured racial epithets. There, in my living room, shaking off snow and laughing, were the kids in the picture two of them, anyway. [46] Her grandfather Martin Luther King Sr. initially was not going to go to her performance due to opposition by locals, but changed his mind afterward. Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father's who has remained close to the family, said Yolanda King had just spoken at an event for the American Heart Association. Thank you for her voice. On July 21, 1969, King's uncle and father's brother Alfred Daniel Williams King was found dead in the swimming pool of his home. Despite this wish, she acknowledged that this was of no ease and expressed happiness that her father had changed many things, and even made some people gain self-esteem. Being a busy woman, her brother merely treated it as one of her hectic schedules. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963. During the course of her lifetime, King's name was mispronounced to the point that it bothered her. [42] Of the King children, Yolanda was the only one to attend Grady High School, as her siblings would go to different high schools following her graduation. "[117], To the time of her death, King continued to deny that her father's dreams and ideals would be fulfilled during her lifetime. I got my answer less than a decade later when, one ridiculously snowy evening in Washington, D.C., my doorbell rang. 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