Published Feb. 6, 2006
Marion, Ala. -- A host of dignitaries, including Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a long line of civil rights leaders converged on tiny Marion, Ala. Sunday to pay tribute to Coretta Scott King.
They spoke of her humility, her belief in nonviolence, her singing talent, her role as a loving wife and mother and her commitment to the civil rights struggle.
People “saw in her something of significance,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, president emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
But despite the accolades, perhaps the most important way to pay tribute to her legacy, said Lowery, is to keep the movement strong.
“Everything has changed and nothing has changed,” said Lowery. He said Alabama still has some of the poorest counties in the nation.
Former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, who was accompanied by two of his daughters, said King believed in a simple gospel of loving your enemies and blessing those who persecute you.
He said King and his first wife, the late Jean Childs Young, who was also from Marion, had incredible strength and were tougher in many ways than their husbands.
King was remembered fondly on Sunday by friends and relatives at Mount Tabor AME Zion Church, where a black-and-white photograph of her was displayed, surrounded by artificial white roses and a white bow. In the church basement are copies of her book, “My Life with Martin Luther King Jr.,” photos of her with the church choir and during a concert in New York.
During Sunday church services, the Rev. Ivey Bryant led the Mount Tabor congregation in a prayer for King, whom he described as “humble.”
“Coretta Scott King was once here, representing God in a mighty, mighty way,” he said.
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