BLACK BLOGGAH

AP Photo
Coretta Scott King, who died yesterday at age 78, is seen here with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a march in Mongomery, Ala., in 1965.

Excerpt from NPR:
Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78. The family did not release information about where she died. Scott King suffered a serious stroke and heart attack in 2005.

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the civil rights activist who is close to the King family, broke the news on NBC's Today show: "I understand that she was asleep last night and her daughter (Bernice King) went in to wake her up and she was not able to and so she quietly slipped away. Her spirit will remain with us just as her husband's has."

Coretta Scott King accompanies her husband the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to Oslo, Norway, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize, December 1964. AFP/Getty Images

from wikipedia: "Mrs. King was vocal in her opposition to capital punishment and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, thus drawing criticism from conservative groups. She was also a vocal advocate of women's rights, lesbian and gay rights and AIDS/HIV prevention.

On August 16, 2005, Mrs. King was hospitalized after suffering a stroke and a mild heart attack. Initially, she was unable to speak and move her right side. She was released from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on September 22, 2005, after regaining some of her speech and continued physiotherapy at home. Because of complications from the stroke, she was apparently unable to make her wishes known regarding the ongoing debate as to whether her late husband's birthplace should continue to be maintained by the city of Atlanta or the National Park Service. On January 14, 2006, Mrs. King made her last public appearance in Atlanta at a dinner honoring her husband's memory."

Audio Linkage
From January 20, 2003: Tavis Smiley talks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the future of black America with Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King.