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Coretta Scott King:A Life and Legacy of Freedom

Tracy WardLIBM 6320Dr. Wendy Rickman

Erin Currier ~ Artist

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Coretta Scott King Early Life

Born April 27, 1927 in Perry County Alabama

Walked 5 miles for elementary education

Her mother hired a bus to drive all African American kids to high school.

Named class valedictorian in 1945

Graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with a music education degree.

Graduated from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in voice and violin. It was here that she met Martin Luther King, Jr.

They were married in 1953 and had four children. She was a faithful pastor’s wife, who raised children, kept house, and supported his role in Civil Rights.

Uffelman, M. (2008). “Coretta Scott King.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 at www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/article.jsp?id=h-1489

+ Coretta Scott KingAchievements Founded Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy

Delegate at 1962 Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland

Founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, “a memorial to King’s vision of peace and equality and houses an extensive library of documents and artifacts central to the Civil Rights Movement” (Uffelman, 2008, para. 7).

Convened the Soviet-American Women’s Summit in Washington, D. C.

Wrote My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1969

Edited The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1983

Numerous honorary degrees

Ghandi Peace Prize from India in 2004

Forest in Northern Israel named in her honor

Super Bowl XL dedicated to her and Rosa Parks

Uffelman, M. (2008). “Coretta Scott King.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 at www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/article.jsp?id=h-1489

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More Achievements

• 1st woman to give a speech at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England

• 1st woman to speak to students at Harvard University’s Class Day

• Woman of the Year in 1960 and 1968

Mis, M. S. (2008). Meet Coretta Scott King. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

+ Coretta Scott King & Civil Rights Part of Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955

Worked on passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964

She organized Freedom Concerts, combining her love of music with her life’s work to end discrimination.

Coretta Scott King. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 22, 2011 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_KingAcademy of Achievement (2008). “Coretta Scott King Interview: Pioneer of Civil Rights.” Retrieved October 22, 2011

from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/kin1int-2

Coretta Scott King discusses her music background and how it was put to use during her lifetime.

+ Other Humanistic and Civil Rights efforts

Compared homophobia to racism, “in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood” (Coretta Scott King, n.d., “LGBT Equality,” para. 1)

Advocate for world peace and the rights of those in poverty

Opposed apartheid and capital punishment

Speaks out for LGBT rights, and often brings her husband’s words back…”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Coretta Scott King. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 22, 2011 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_King

+CSK Awards History

The illustrator award began in 1974, and was given to George Ford for his work in the biography, Ray Charles, by Sharon Mathis.

The awards originated in 1969 after a discussion among librarians, Glyndon Flynt Greer and Mabel McKissick, and the publisher John Carroll.

They noted that no African American authors or illustrators had won the Newbery or Caldecott Awards

The first author’s award was presented during the New Jersey Library Association meeting in May 1970.

The first winner was Lillie Patterson, who was honored for her book that chronicled the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. for youth readers.

The current awards are governed by the Coretta Scott King Task Force, which is now a part of the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT)

Smith, H. M. (Ed.). (2008). The Coretta Scott King Awards: 1970-2009 (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

+Coretta Scott King Awards Basics Awarded to African American authors and illustrators for

outstanding educational contributions

The Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples

Other related awards include the John Steptoe Award for talented new authors and the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards are designed to pay tribute to the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for carrying on his work.

American Library Association.(2011). “Coretta Scott King Awards.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 from

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm

+ CSK Award Seals

• Designed by Lev Mills

• Seal components• circle (continuity) • child reading a book• five religious symbols of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity,

Judaism, and Taoism.

• Dove of peace and a pyramid, which symbolizes strength of humans, as well as Atlanta University where the seal was designed.

• Original color of bronze for winner, silver for honors

• Current colors of black with bronze for winners, pewter for honors

• John Steptoe Award is in green for new beginningsAmerican Library Association.(2011). “Coretta Scott King Awards.” Retrieved October

22, 2011 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm

+…and the author winners have been…

Maya Angelou (1971)

Pearl Bailey (1976)

Ossie Davis (1979)

Berry Gordy, Sr. (1980)

Sidney Poitier (1981)

Toni Morrison (2005)

Smith, H. M. (Ed.). (2008). The Coretta Scott King Awards: 1970-2009 (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

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From We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (2009 Award)

From Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, illustrated by Sean Qualls (2009 Honor)

From Dream Variations, illustrated by Benny Andrews (2007 Honor)

From Rosa, illustrated by Bryan Collier (2006 Award)

Smith, H. M. (Ed.). (2008). The Coretta Scott King Awards: 1970-2009 (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

…and the illustrator winners have been…

+References

Academy of Achievement. (2008). “Coretta Scott King Interview: Pioneer of Civil Rights.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/kin1int-2

American Library Association. (2011). “Coretta Scott King Awards.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm

Coretta Scott King. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 22, 2011 from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_King

Mis, M. S. (2008). Meet Coretta Scott King. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Smith, H. M. (Ed.). (2008). The Coretta Scott King Awards: 1970-2009 (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

Uffelman, M. (2008). “Coretta Scott King.” Retrieved October 22, 2011 at www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/article.jsp?id=h-1489