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 . #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { 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. [119] She made it clear that month that she was not trying to fill her father's footsteps, noting jokingly that "They're too big" and that she would "fall and break [her] neck". Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. 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. Ms. Kings consistent goal was to infect her work, including her films, with her familys deeper purposes. Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. Still Far From Living King's Dream, His Daughter Says", "LOVE WILL LIGHT WAY, KING'S DAUGHTER SAYS", "25th anniversary of death of Martin Luther King, Jr. is observed across USA", "KING'S DAUGHTER TO INTERPRET DREAM FOR DENVER", "WATTS: Show Stirs Memories for King's Daughter", "Daughter Yolanda King And Sinfonietta Honor Her Dad", "King Family Makes Appeal For Trial for James Earl Ray", "More Need To Hear Yolanda King's 'Music', "King's daughter recalls father's message", "King's 'Dream' Endures in Mix of Music, Drama", "Yolanda King, 51; actress, child of civil rights leader", "Coretta Scott King to Remain Hospitalized at Least a Week", "Relative Says Mrs. King Had Minor Stroke", "Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., dies", "Eldest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. dies", "Yolanda King's body brought back to Atlanta", "King's Dream Of Unity Reflected In Celebrations", "King's dream still worth pursuing, daughter says", "Civil-rights leader's daughter to speak", "King's Daughter Urges Students To Get Involved", "Task Force mourns death of Yolanda King 'An unwavering voice for equality and justice', "Out & Equal Mourns the Passing of Civil Rights Leader", "Yolanda King's sudden death shocks family, friends", "After 'March', feeling hopeful about the 'Dream', In Black America; Yolanda King: Understanding The Black Struggle,, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yolanda_King&oldid=1136984705, Felecia Hunter, in the 1978 television miniseries, Melina Nzeza as a child and Ronda Louis-Jeune as an adult, in the 2013 television movie, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 04:20. But walking through the first part of the exhibit I felt that terror. "[101] "I struggled with a lot of the legacy for a long time, probably actually into my 30s before I really made peace with it," Yolanda stated in 2005 on "Western Skies", a public radio show based in Colorado. Yolanda was an advocate for racial and social justice, workers' rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and general nonviolence. "Hey, hope you don't mind, but I brought Yoki and Marty with me," he apologized as the three swept up the stairs of my DuPont Circle townhouse. I watched as the four King children grew into adulthood, then middle age, all single. She called him my first buddy, saying, I was tremendously loved.. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. [19], King, and her brother "Marty", were enrolled in the fall semester of 1965 at Spring Street Elementary School, in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. Death 15 May 2007 (aged 51) Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, USA. "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," King said. Bernice King, Yolanda King and Martin Luther King III. ATLANTA - Yolanda King, the Rev. Yolanda King, 51, Actor and Dr. King's Daughter, Dies By Douglas Martin May 17, 2007 Yolanda King, the eldest child of the Rev. [50] King would ultimately attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts after graduating from high school. Despite this wish, she acknowledged that this was of no ease and expressed happiness that her father had changed many things, and even made some people gain self-esteem. Maybe when I'm older I won't be able to stand Yoki, but Yolanda sounds so formal!" In a twenty-four-minute-long speech, she brought up the presidential election of that year, and also quoted the words of Bobby Kennedy by recalling his line which he took from George Bernard Shaw, that of "Some men see things as they are and say why? 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963. She complimented her mother on her achievements and her mother spoke of her in a positive light, as well. ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, the Rev. Rest in peace Yoki! Early on, she was aware of racism in her surroundings, especially when her father had to explain to her why she wasn't allowed to go to the amusement park known as "Funtown." I remember listening to the news, in disbelief, in the twilight hours of April 4, 1968. On January 15, 1997, she spoke at Florida Memorial College and expressed what she believed her father would feel if "he knew that people were taking a day off in his memory to do nothing". hide caption. When she returned home, she rushed to confront her mother about his death and even ignored her grandfather, Martin Luther King, Sr., to tell her mother what she had heard and that they would not get their "freedom now." [65] In 1984, she was arrested in the view of her mother for having protested in front of the South African Embassy, in support of anti-apartheid views. [22] King flew to Memphis, Tennessee with her brothers and mother and participated in leading a march in Memphis with sanitation workers and civil rights leaders. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. She was 12 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. died. Maya Angelou wrote a tribute to her, which was read during the memorial service. She made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls". Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 and died on May 15, 2007. "Yolanda was lovely. 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. A flag at The King Center, which King's mother founded in 1968 and where she was a board member, was lowered to half-staff on Wednesday. [61] Both were worried that they would not like each other due to their fathers' legacies. She founded a dramatic group with Atallah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, the slain civil rights leader, and started a theatrical production company, Higher Ground Productions, dedicated to what she called personal empowerment. She returned to Smith College on January 26, 1989. Leading up to her death, she was still active in the public eye. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, and Mrs. King died last year. She founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. Sign In . King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. It's often hard for young people to understand the fear and terror so many people felt and how bold they were to get involved in the marches. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51. Prior to the film's release, King expressed belief in children of the time knowing that "Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, but when it is time to talk about the facts and the history, there is not a lot of knowledge. [25] Her memories of her father prompted her to state that he "believed we were all divine. She mentioned the possibility that the event could have been a calling for Americans to put their loyalty towards "their race, tribe and nation", as her father once said. The loss has not gotten easier in 50 years, but his three surviving children each bear it on their own terms. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. Yolanda King learned about racial discrimination at 3 or 4 when she was barred from an amusement park. [21] At the age of eight after writing her first play,[22][23] she also enrolled in the only integrated drama school of that time. Ms. King graduated from Smith College and earned a master of fine arts degree from New York University. Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. [24], On May 15, 2007, King told her brother Dexter, that she was tired, though he thought nothing of it because of her "hectic" schedule. The death comes just over a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King a civil rights leader in her own right at the age of 78, of complications from ovarian cancer, and after a battle with the effects from a stroke. [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. Her mother, Coretta Scott King, died last year. "Daughters of M.L. The four King children gathered at the February 2006 funeral of their mother, Coretta Scott King. In the 1990s, she supported a retrial of James Earl Ray and publicly stated that she did not hate him. "[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. . In 1960, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she was immersed in social upheaval. Yolanda died due to a chronic heart condition in 2007. This, and other experiences, prompted a 7-year-old Yolanda to tell her friends (via Stanford), "Look, all I want is to just be treated like a normal child.". Her family has speculated that her death was caused by a heart condition. She appeared in numerous films and played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries King. The two were the same age. Active human rights worker. ATLANTA Yolanda King, the Rev. I could let the rough edges show., Yolanda King, 51, Actor and Dr. Kings Daughter, Dies, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/us/17king.html. [107], That year, she and her brother Dexter came to oppose their other brother and sister, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, on the matter of selling the King Center. . King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 May 15, 2007) was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King who pursued artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking. Yolanda has mostly been portrayed in films that revolve around her parents. King appeared on News & Notes on January 15, 2007 to discuss her. Only a year earlier, Coretta Scott King, wife of MLK and mother to Yolanda, died from complications of ovarian cancer at the age of 78. 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