The next-youngest, Dexter, leaned silently against his mother's side. Staff writer Kevin Moran contributed to this report. She was involved in a sibling feud that pitted her and her brother Dexter against their brother Martin Luther King III and sister Bernice King for the sale of the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. The children of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine have each in their own way worked to carry on their parents' work fighting for racial equality and social justice. Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's activism with her own artistic pursuits. Yolanda has mostly been portrayed in films that revolve around her parents. "[26] Coretta King wrote in her memoirs, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr., that "Martin always said that Yoki came at a time in his life when he needed something to take his mind off the tremendous pressures that bore down upon him. However, she was still misjudged and mistrusted because of her skin color, based on perceptions founded solely upon her relationship with her father. [108] After Coretta died on January 30, 2006, Yolanda, like her siblings, attended her funeral. or redistributed. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. There was such a need, like they were looking for a miracle. When asked about how she was faring following her mother's death, Yolanda responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. [104] She was hospitalized on August 16, 2005,[105] and was set to come home as well. I thought of that evening often over the years, the unexpected appearance of the living children of a beloved icon. Sign In . Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. [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. [112] On May 12, 2007,[107] days before her death, she spoke at St. Mary Medical Center, on behalf of the American Stroke Association. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength." She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. The loss has not gotten easier in 50 years, but his three surviving children each bear it on their own terms. As an actress, she appeared in numerous films and even played civil rights heroine Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." But walking through the first part of the exhibit I felt that terror. Yolanda Denise King was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. [30] Four days later, she and her family accompanied their mother to Memphis City Hall on her own terms, as she and her brothers had wanted to come. She was also on the board of the King Center. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. She made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls". Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. The only reason why Black History Month was created and still exists is because America is still struggling and trying to come to grips, come to terms with the diversity of its people. The two were the same age. King appeared on News & Notes on January 15, 2007 to discuss her. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. 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,". One of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement, the Rev. (After all, she was a theater major.) "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.''. [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. ", As an actress, she appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi," and even played civil rights heroine Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King.". However, her father reassured her as she began to cry that she was "just as good" as anyone who went to Funtown, and that, one day in the "not too distant future", she was going to be able to go to "any town" along with "all of God's children". He may be dead physically, and one day I am going to see him again".[43]. The "commitment" to diverse members in the audience and the play itself, was what represented the opportunities for which King fought. The actual cause of her death was not determined. Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." Her mother, Coretta Scott King, died last year. I remember listening to the news, in disbelief, in the twilight hours of April 4, 1968. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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). Heart Attack caused Yolanda King's death in 2007. At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. King was cremated,[115] in accordance with her wishes. I have chosen to continue to promote 'we're one, the oneness of us, and shine the spotlight,' as my father did. Yolanda Renee King declares a call to action to mark Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday: "Although you may not be old enough to vote, you are the future." Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of civil . In high school, she was president of her sophomore and junior classes and vice president of her senior class. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica,. Yolanda at that same ceremony used her craft as an actress to deliver a tribute to her parents, performing a series of skits telling stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala. "Daughters of M.L. 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. accessed ), memorial page for Yolanda Denise King (17 Nov 1955-15 May 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19405381; . [66], She showed dissatisfaction with her "generation" on January 20, 1985, and referred to them as being "laid-back and unconcerned", and "forgetting the sacrifices that allowed them to get away with being so laid-back". 225 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. At the time of the honor, King said that their production company had been approached by organizations seeking to arrange special staging of the play for gang members before May 1, when the show's run would end. But after finishing her sophomore year and returning home so she could work over the summer, her grandmother Alberta Williams King was killed on June 30, 1974. [80] That same year, she also spoke at Indiana University. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. The next year, Ms. Kings uncle A. D. King, her fathers sole brother, accidentally drowned. Yolanda King was the founder and head of Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." display: block; Four days later, she and her brothers accompanied their mother to appear at Memphis City Hall. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, No blood children, maybe, but as Yolanda pointed out in an NPR interview a few years ago, when people feel empowered, they become part of the King legacy: "I think it takes that for people to be effective change agents and to be champions of peace in their own lives. I dream things that never were and say why not?". At her father's former Atlanta church, Ebenezer Baptist, she performed a series of one-actor skits that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Alabama. Though her mother kept her nave to the controversies so she could "fulfill [her] objective, which was to do the play", that did not stop her from learning of the negativity implemented from her role years later. "[54] On April 4, 1975, King joined her family in placing azaleas over her father's crypt, marking the seventh anniversary of his assassination.[55]. [40] At that time, King still did not know what she wanted to do with her life, but acknowledged that many wanted her to be a preacher. He would be killed a scant three months later by an assassin's bullet. At her father's former Atlanta church, Ebenezer Baptist, she performed a series of one-actor skits on King Day this year that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala. She also urged the audience at Ebenezer to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year to ask tough questions about their own beliefs on prejudice. [39] During a Sunday visit to Church, King was forced to stand before the congregation and explain her actions. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., Yolanda Denise King was just an infant when her home was bombed amid the turbulent civil rights era. Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM I was just someone who loved someone, and I knew he had done great things and now people didn't appreciate it." "[94] Following the September 11 attacks, King spoke in North Chicago in 2002 and related that her father's wisdom during the crisis would have been of great aid to her. Being the oldest, she had to watch her three younger siblings; Martin Luther King III, Dexter King and Bernice King and referred to the three as independent when she watched them whenever their mother went out of town. She was one of the first black children at a previously segregated elementary school in Atlanta, where she endured racial epithets. Despite this, King managed to keep up her grades and became involved in high school politics, serving as class president for two years. The actor, speaker and producer was the founder and head of Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." After her hour-long presentation, she joined her sister and her aunt, Christine King Farris, in signing books. [58] Despite some early opposition to acting that she received during her controversial play in high school, King still tried to get roles and actively tried performing. Active human rights worker. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. In 1979, Yolanda met Attallah Shabazz, the eldest daughter of Malcolm X,[60] after arrangements had been made by Ebony Magazine to take a photograph of the two women together. [89], In the fall of 1995, at age 39, she joined Ilyasah Shabazz and Reena Evers in saluting their mothers as they chaired an attempt at registering one million African-American women to vote in the presidential election of 1996. 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. Speaking last January in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church where her father preached for many years Yolanda exhorted those observing the national holiday that bears his name to remember that America has not yet achieved peace and racial equality. Yolanda and Martin III sat nearby, numb with sadness. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said. Yolanda, King's nine-year-old granddaughter, made headlines just last month with her rousing speech at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington. The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff on today. King was also an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence, and held memberships in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which her father co-founded in 1957 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Image Credit Birthday: November 17, 1955 ( Scorpio) Born In: Montgomery, Alabama, United States 26 15 Civil Rights Activists #23 Human Rights Activists #11 Voice Actresses #17 Quick Facts Also Known As: Yolanda Denise King Died At Age: 51 Family: father: Martin Luther King Jr. Her decision in 1971 to play a prostitute in a school production of Bill Manhoffs Owl and the Pussycat, which involved kissing a white man, scandalized the white and black communities. Marty was quieter, but he tossed in a quip or two when he could manage to get a word in edgewise. "I'm Yoki," Yolanda King said, smiling. She died on May 15, 2007 in Santa Monica, California, USA. [118], Despite this, she was quoted in January 2003 of saying that she was "a 100 percent, dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying believer in 'The Dream'. "[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]. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a statement. "[53] At the time of her turmoil in college, King recalled having not known Malcolm X and "didn't understand daddy, so here I was trying to defend something I thought I knew about but really didn't. Coretta Scott King began to decline in health after suffering a stroke in August 2005. [83] During July 1993, she agreed to speak at the Coral Springs City Centre for airfare and a fee in January 1994. The event marked 57 years since King Jr delivered. Yolanda died due to a chronic heart condition in 2007. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength.". In honor of her father, King promoted a show in Los Angeles entitled "Achieving the Dream" in 2001. [84] During her speech, she mentioned that the fact that the poverty line in America among children had nearly tripled and urged people to "reach out" and "do what you can". She asked her mother at this time, if she should hate the man who killed her father. Yolanda King was active in education during the start of her acting career, working as a professor for three years at Fordham University before moving to Los Angeles in 1990. Martin Luther King Jr. 's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. She originally wanted $8,000, but negotiated down to $6,500. [63] A few months after King and Shabazz met, the pair decided to collaborate on a theatrical work, resulting in Stepping into Tomorrow. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. ", "Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all," he said.

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