Coretta Quotes

I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neither life nor work would bring fulfillment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well-ordered home where #Christian love is a reality. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I always knew that I was called to do something. I didn't know what, but I finally rationalized after I met Martin [Luther King, Jr.] and it took a lot of praying to discover this, that this was probably what God had called me to do, to marry him. ~ Coretta Scott King

When you are willing to make sacrifices for a great cause, you will never be alone. ~ Coretta Scott King

An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed in retaliation. ~ Coretta Scott King

Hate is too great a burden to bear ... ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

Receiving both the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award suggests I have succeeded, at least in terms of my own goals, in my intent to make art that moves children. ~ Jerry Pinkney

I am convinced that the women of the world, united without any regard for national or racial dimensions, can become a most powerful force for international peace and brotherhood. ~ Coretta Scott King

Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation. ~ Coretta Scott King

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. ~ Coretta Scott King

I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation. ~ Coretta Scott King

For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people. Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions. ~ Coretta Scott King

If American women 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. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

No abundance of material goods can compensate for the death of individuality and personal creativity. ~ Coretta Scott King

Money is necessary
both to support a family and to advance causes one believes in. ~ Coretta Scott King

Will I die slain like my King by a terrorist?
Will my woman be Coretta, take my name and cherish it?
Or will she Jackie O., drop the Kennedy, remarry it? ~ Killer Mike

When the heart is right, the mind and the body will follow. ~ Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King was all about her pearl earrings. At one point, I'm wearing pearl earrings the size of golf balls. They're enormous! She was bold-she knew that she was the Jackie Kennedy of her community. ~ Carmen Ejogo

Violence diminishes our humanity. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

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 in history or nothing happens. ~ Coretta Scott King

Then she spoke with Yolanda, her eldest child, with whom she'd been shopping all afternoon for an Easter dress. "Mommy, I'm not going to cry," Yoki said resolutely. "I'll see him again in heaven."
But something was bothering her, something clearly nagged at her young conscience. "Should I hate the man who killed my father?" she asked.
Coretta shook her head. "No, darling, your daddy wouldn't want you to do that. ~ Hampton Sides

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' 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. ~ Coretta Scott King

The world is better because of Coretta Scott King. She affected countless lives and her voice will be deeply missed, especially by those who carry on her incredible undertaking. ~ Alcee Hastings

I was in the kitchen drinking coffee when I heard Coretta cry, "Martin, Martin, come quickly!" I put down my cup and ran toward the living room. As I approached the front window Coretta pointed joyfully to a slowly moving bus: "Darling, it's empty! ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must eliminate the gulf of mistrust and ignorance that keeps us from learning from each other. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

He saw that at its center were Coretta and Yoki, unharmed. And then, having made sure of that, Martin Luther King became very calm, with what Branch calls "the remote calm of a commander." Stepping back out on the porch, he held up his hand for silence. Everything was all right, he told the crowd. "Don't get panicky. Don't do anything panicky. Don't get your weapons. If you have weapons, take them home. He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. Remember that is what Jesus said. We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies. I want you to love our enemies. Be good to them. This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love." The crowd was silent now, as King continued speaking. He himself might die, he said, but that wouldn't matter. "If I am stopped, this movement will not stop. If I am stopped, our work will not stop. For what we are doing is right. What we are doing is just. ~ Robert A. Caro

Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated. ~ Coretta Scott King

How many men must die before we can really have a free and true and peaceful society? How long will it take? ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

If a man had nothing that was worth dying for, then he was not fit to live. ~ Coretta Scott King

Nonviolence first changes the individual. ~ Coretta Scott King

Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life. ~ Coretta Scott King

People need role models. They need to see examples of people in peoples' lives. ~ Coretta Scott King

It took me awhile to recognize the difference between someone who genuinely cares about you and welcomes your company and someone who is just interested in your life's latest development ~ Tracey Coretta

When Good Friday comes, these are the moments in life when we feel there's no hope. But then, Easter comes. ~ Coretta Scott King

Without Coretta Scott King, there would not have been a Martin Luther King, Jr. in the way that we know him. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

If sexual relations between consenting adults are not part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Constitution, then American democracy is in trouble. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King

Segmentation was wrong when it was forced by white people, and I believe it is still wrong when it is requested by black people. ~ Coretta Scott King

Like life, racial understanding is not something that we find but something that we must create. And so the ability of Negroes and whites to work together, to understand each other, will not be found readymade; it must be created by the fact of contact. ~ Coretta Scott King

I must remind you that starving a child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence. Contempt for poverty is violence. ~ Coretta Scott King

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. ~ Coretta Scott King