Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech . In response, she pushed for "the goal" to be "color acceptance. King received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a master's degree in theater from New York University,[59] and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marywood University. Yolanda King was the most visible and outspoken among the Kings' four children during activities honoring this year's Martin Luther King Day in January, the first since Coretta Scott King's death. [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. People Photos Purpose. [82], 25 years after her father's assassination, she went to his gravesite. Yolanda King: 'We will fulfil my grandfather's dream' The granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr speaks at the 2020 March on Washington. ATLANTA Yolanda King, the Rev. At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. There, she gave a speech and made references to her past difficult experiences when first coming to the college. The pair performed in around 50 cities a year and did lectures together, typically in school settings. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. She appeared in numerous films and played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries King. There, in my living room, shaking off snow and laughing, were the kids in the picture two of them, anyway. While in high school, she gained lifelong friends. King became a human rights activist and actress. [108] After Coretta died on January 30, 2006, Yolanda, like her siblings, attended her funeral. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. Search instead in Creative? King's mother, Coretta Scott King, suffered a stroke before her death from cancer in 2006. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., finishes preaching at the Washington National Cathedral January 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. ", during a celebration that marked what would have been her father's sixty-fourth birthday. 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. Their play Stepping into Tomorrow was praised by supervisors as being "entertaining and enlightening." But the circumstances surrounding her death make people draw conclusions about her cause of death. [129] On May 25, 2008, her brother Martin Luther III and his wife, Arndrea, became the parents of a baby girl and named her Yolanda Renee King, after King herself. Yolanda Denise King nicknamed Yoki by the family was born Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., where her father was then preaching. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica,. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. [8] The Kings would have another daughter, almost eight years later, named Bernice (born 1963). In January 2004, King referred to her father as a king, but not as one who "sat on a throne, but one who sat in a dark Birmingham jail. 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. I thought of that evening often over the years, the unexpected appearance of the living children of a beloved icon. [114] A public memorial for Yolanda King was held on May 24, 2007, at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia. [104] She was hospitalized on August 16, 2005,[105] and was set to come home as well. Her deepest memories were the love of her father, who taught her to swim and playfully pummeled her but never spanked her. [24] On January 7, 1986, Yolanda, her brother Martin Luther King III and her sister Bernice were arrested for "disorderly conduct" by officers responding to a call from a Winn Dixie market, of which had an ongoing protest against it since September of the previous year. It was the first and only institution where King was not harassed or mistreated because of who her father was. After the move, she founded Higher Ground Productions where she produced and starred in a myriad of films. None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". 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. To Yolanda, it seemed as if adults naturally went to jail occasionally, because all those she knew seemed to do that. "[88] She honored her father in 1995 by performing in the Chicago Sinfonietta in the play "A Lincoln Portrait", in which she was the narrator. She held membership at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her father helped found in 1957, and she was a notable advocate for non-violence. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. She felt teenagers were confused and were using drugs as a method to escape their problems. Market data provided by Factset. [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. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. [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". As an actress, she appeared in numerous films and even played civil rights heroine Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." All three of her siblings lit a candle in her memory. She was a young girl during his famous stay in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail. She complimented her mother on her achievements and her mother spoke of her in a positive light, as well. In 1974, an apparent madman fired a gun in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and killed her grandmother Alberta Williams King. [71] 683 Yolanda King Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 683 yolanda king stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Wage growth is slowing. But acting, I could be zany, silly, sometimes the foolish person that I am. . [61] Both were worried that they would not like each other due to their fathers' legacies. [4] Despite this, the front porch was damaged and glass broke in the home. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { She wrote "Yolanda proved daily that it was possible to smile while wreathed in sadness. 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). In the Fall of 1968, King attended Henry Grady Highschool, in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, she was president of her sophomore and junior class, and vice president of her senior class. [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. In 1978 she starred as Rosa Parks in the TV miniseries King (based on her father's life and released on DVD in 2005). The next year, Ms. Kings uncle A. D. King, her fathers sole brother, accidentally drowned. One of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement, the Rev. ", "Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all," he said. [86], On February 1, 1994, King attempted to speak before a diverse class of students at North Central College. Instead, the two quickly found common ground in their activism and in their positive outlook towards the future of African-Americans. Ms. King was meeting her brother Dexter King at a friends home when she collapsed and died. 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. She was 12 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. died. [25], She kicked off Martin Luther King Jr. Day by starting a week-long celebration on January 12, 1987, and talked to students about opportunities that they had at that point which their parents and grandparents did not have. 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. [67] That same year, she presented the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Public Service to Chicago Mayor Harold Washington during the fifth annual Ebony American Black Achievement Awards. 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. "Daughters of M.L. King also voiced her dislike of the assumption that she would behave just like her mother and father, and the difficulty of being perceived as not being someone others could talk to. She was also subject to some harassment by her classmates, describing it as the "era when students were making demands and many black students were closer to the teachings of Malcolm X, or what they thought were his teachings." King was an ardent activist for gay rights,[123][124] as was her mother; Coretta Scott protested many times over gay rights. Blame the Federal Reserve. Bernice A. Before her death, she led a production company called Higher Ground Productions an organization whose mission is to provide a "gateway for inner peace, unity, and global transformation," as per NPR. I watched as the four King children grew into adulthood, then middle age, all single. [77] On January 17, 1991, Yolanda spoke before a crowd of students at Edmonds Community College, around 200 in number. Sign In . Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a brief statement. She went to drama school, where was active in student counsels, and in 1976, she graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and African American Studies. "Yolanda was lovely. 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. King recalled that her mother had been the main parent and dominant figure in their home, while her father was often away. She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. "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.''. Legal Statement. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. I remember listening to the news, in disbelief, in the twilight hours of April 4, 1968. "She was a warm and gentle person and was thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama. In 1993, she debunked the thought that her father's "dream" had been anything but a dream, and was quoted as saying "It's easier to build monuments than to make a better world. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story" Yolanda Denise King, 51, the eldest daughter of the late civil rights leader Rev. "Thanks for having us.". Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. On May 15, 2007, she told her brother Dexter that she was tired. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn said to King that he "sensed I was in the presence of a great man when I met your father. Yolanda died due to a chronic heart condition in 2007. The four King children gathered at the February 2006 funeral of their mother, Coretta Scott King. She was 7 when her father mentioned her and her siblings in his 1963 speech at the March on Washington: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.". [25] Her memories of her father prompted her to state that he "believed we were all divine. She was 51. Her career in acting kept her in the realm of civil rights. During the play, she changed costume numerous times and adjusted her voice and body language when changing roles. She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007 Santa Monica, California | Age 51 Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., dies . Bernice A. or redistributed. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. [12] After having not seen her father for five weeks while he was in jail, she finally was able to meet with him alongside both of her brothers for less than half an hour. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In high school, she was president of her sophomore and junior classes and vice president of her senior class. Yolanda King would have been 51 years old at the time of death or 59 years old today. Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. What is the birth name of. For a nation that prides itself on liberty, justice and equality for all, this is totally unacceptable. Ms. King was 12 on April 4, 1968, when she heard a news bulletin on television saying her father had been assassinated in Memphis. Heart Attack caused Yolanda King's death in 2007. King was the first national ambassador to the anti-stroke campaign and she helped spread the word about risk factors and warning signs of stroke, Davis said. Photos honoring the life of Yolanda King from Santa Monica, California - ADVERTISEMENT - Play Music Pause Music Tweet; Help | Login | Sign Up; . [68], She celebrated her father's holiday on January 16, 1986, and attended a breakfast in Chicago with Mayor Harold Washington. "[92], King attended and spoke at the Human Rights Campaign Detroit Gala Dinner of 2000. Young said she was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway and "they were not able to revive her.". "[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. I remember thinking she was sparkly a good, throaty laugh, good sense of humor, the ability to dramatically capture the room's attention. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. Her father admitted that he had never adjusted to bringing up children under "inexplicable conditions". I remember being particularly focused on one of them: Robert Kennedy was somber, even tearful at times, as he knelt and crossed himself and prayed with his wife, Ethel, before the service began. Ric Feld/AFP/Getty Images During the family's interview with Mike Wallace in December 1968, Yolanda was introduced by her mother and revealed her role in keeping the family together. Numerous dignitaries from around the world crowded into the dark wood pews at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. [93] During a presentation in May 2000, King was asked if the human race would ever become "color blind". The statement was made while she was in the presence of 800 people who gathered to honor her father at the Everett Theatre. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963. "While Mrs. King was alive, the standards to which she would hold any potential life partner of any of her children would be so high as to be almost unmeetable," he speculates. Martin Luther King Jr. 's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. [95] She, her brother Martin Luther King III and Al Sharpton sang We Shall Overcome in front of "The Sphere", which stood atop the World Trade Center prior to the September 11 attacks.[96]. "[117], To the time of her death, King continued to deny that her father's dreams and ideals would be fulfilled during her lifetime. Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's. It's a dream about freedomfreedom from oppression, from exploitation, from poverty the dream of a nation and a world where each and every child will have the opportunity to simply be the very best that they can be." Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. It seems we've stood still and in many ways gone backward since Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. . [106] She became a spokesperson for the American Heart Association after her mother's stroke, promoting a campaign to raise awareness about strokes. "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. Maybe when I'm older I won't be able to stand Yoki, but Yolanda sounds so formal!" "I'm Yoki," Yolanda King said, smiling. Staff writer Kevin Moran contributed to this report. [111] She spoke on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2007 to attendees at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and stated: "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other,". Death photos of Yolanda King Seeing Spots May 24, 2007 1 2 Next Seeing Spots Joyful Woman! [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. Yolanda King is seen in a 2006 file photo. "She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, the Rev. 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? She received a standing ovation afterwards, alongside a thunderous applause. "[87] In July 1994, after seeing some photographs of her father prior to his death, Yolanda lamented that "this [had] brought back a lot of memories. [39] She was active in student government and drama. Sharpton said Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right. Legal Statement. Many former classmates of both Grady High School and Smith College attended to remember her. But walking through the first part of the exhibit I felt that terror. 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. She stroked her youngest child, Bernice, as the preschooler raised sad eyes to her mother and looked around in wonder at all the strangers in the church that had been home to three generations of Kings. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. An important early memory was that she wanted to go to Funtown, a local amusement park, with the rest of her class, but was barred from doing so due to her race. ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said. / CBS/AP. Her death comes little more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King. 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