Distinguished Professor at Brooklyn College, Author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks and King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life of Struggle Outside the South
Jeanne Theoharis
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When a journalist asked MLK,“Did you educate your wife on activism?” Martin replied “Well, it may have been the other way around. I think at many points she educated me.” MLK recalled the early years of their relationship & her pacifism. “She was as actively involved when we met as she is now.”
Why don't we know Coretta Scott King as one of the leaders of the anti-Vietnam War movement? “Since the spotlight shone so brightly on Martin, the press overlooked my agenda & activities.” But the FBI flagged her potential danger, in March 1966 designating her a “subversive” to the Secret Service.
MLK comes out publicly against Vietnam because of Coretta's pressure. "She educated me." Coretta's antiwar work spanned her anti-Cold War work with the Progressive Party to anti-nuclear & Vietnam activism of the '60s to opposing the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars. “Peace is not just the goal, it’s the way.”
The red-baiting of antiwar activists in 1965 was relentless. Feeling the pressure, in Nov, MLK didn't address a DC peace rally but CSK did. "Unless America learns to respect the right to freedom & justice for all, then the very things which we hold dear in this country will wither away.”
Riveting thread on the rich life, intellect, and activism of Coretta Scott. She was - and should always remain in our memory - so much more than Mrs. MLK!
This is so galvanizing to read. I’m ashamed I know so little about her. Now I’m imagining a biopic w Keke Palmer that passes the Bechdel Test
This whole 🧵 is fantastic.
Jeanne Theoharis
Jeanne Theoharis
Jeanne Theoharis
Jeanne Theoharis
Kate Doyle
Kendra Salois
M. S. AtKisson
Coretta explained, “Jesus did not timidly & ambiguously imply the brotherhood of man. He proclaimed it. He did not mildly disapprove of war. He blessed the peacemakers. He did not worry about his popularity with the rich & the powerful. He scorned them for their indifference and greed."
