From left: Dexter King, the Rev. 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. 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. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51. Born 1950 and died 2007. The loss has not gotten easier in 50 years, but his three surviving children each bear it on their own terms. "[126] Like her parents and siblings, King did not publicly affiliate with a political party. The four children of the civil rights activist noticed "something was happening". [102] During the fall of 2004 she played Mama in "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts at Cornell University. Below, she speaks at a 2000 Human Rights Campaign gala. 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.Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's activism with her own artistic pursuits. Steve Klein, a spokesman for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, said the cause of death had not been determined but seemed related to cardiopulmonary problems. On her company's Web site, King described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change. "I'm Yoki," Yolanda King said, smiling. Photos honoring the life of Yolanda King from Santa Monica, California - ADVERTISEMENT - Play Music Pause Music Tweet; Help | Login | Sign Up; . Around an hour later,[113] King collapsed in the Santa Monica, California home of Philip Madison Jones, her brother Dexter King's best friend, and could not be revived. And I was happy to see that they bore no resemblance to the sad-eyed youngsters I'd seen on television during their father's services. Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. In 1966, Yolanda listened to a speech her father gave when he was addressing a rally. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "[91] In an interview with People magazine in 1999, she recalled when she first learned of her father's death and stated in her words that "to this day, my heart skips a beat every time I hear one of those special bulletins. [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'. 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. "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle," said the Rev. Instead, the two quickly found common ground in their activism and in their positive outlook towards the future of African-Americans. [114] A public memorial for Yolanda King was held on May 24, 2007, at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia. [19], King, and her brother "Marty", were enrolled in the fall semester of 1965 at Spring Street Elementary School, in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Associated Press contributed to this report. I was just someone who loved someone, and I knew he had done great things and now people didn't appreciate it." #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat" ", "Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all," he said. Despite this, she did voice opposition to President Ronald Reagan's reluctance to sign the law establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, her father's national holiday. 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. 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. [11] When she was 6 years old, she was saddened by classmates' remarks that her father was a "jailbird". 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." "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. ATLANTA - Yolanda King, the Rev. 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. Market data provided by Factset. Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. She died on May 15, 2007 in Santa Monica, California, USA. Bernice A. 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. [79] King stressed in 1992 that love would help people make their mark on the world. [97] King and Elodia Tate co-edited the book Open My Eyes, Open My Soul: Celebrating Our Common Humanity,[98][99] published by McGraw-Hill in 2003. Steve Klein, a spokesman for the center, says the 51-year-old died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. A spokesman for the King Center says the family does not know the cause of death but suspects it might have been a heart problem. 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. [90] King joined the rest of her family in February 1997, in advocating a retrial for James Earl Ray, the man convicted of her father's murder, having realized that "without our direct involvement, the truth will never come out. When asked then by The Associated Press how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, King responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. [82], 25 years after her father's assassination, she went to his gravesite. She also urged the audience at Ebenezer to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year in January to ask tough questions about their own beliefs on prejudice. display: block; / CBS/AP. Four days later, she and her brothers accompanied their mother to appear at Memphis City Hall. November 28, 2007 . [50] King would ultimately attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts after graduating from high school. I remember listening to the news, in disbelief, in the twilight hours of April 4, 1968. Information about the death of Yolanda King; Cause of death: Heart Attack: Age of death: 51 years: Profession: Civil Rights Leader: Birthday: November 17, 1955: Death date: March 15, 2007: Place of death: N/A: Place of burial: N/A: Quotes. Ric Feld/AFP/Getty Images 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 . Marty was quieter, but he tossed in a quip or two when he could manage to get a word in edgewise. Trending News This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial. What is the birth name of. Please enter valid email address to continue. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn said to King that he "sensed I was in the presence of a great man when I met your father. [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. The "commitment" to diverse members in the audience and the play itself, was what represented the opportunities for which King fought. It seems we've stood still and in many ways gone backward since Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. There, in my living room, shaking off snow and laughing, were the kids in the picture two of them, anyway. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. 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." Martin Luther King Jr. , Rev. Arrangements were to be announced later, the family said in a statement. [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. "[69] King started Black History Month of 1986 by giving a speech in Santa Ana, which called for the study of African-American history to not be "relegated to the shortest and coldest month of the year. "[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. She became a secondary caregiver to her younger siblings. Yolanda, from your one and only, I thank you for being a sister and for being a friend." None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. ", The Rev. [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. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength." "Daughters of M.L. She made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls". [48] Despite statements such as these, King did not become aware of the public discomfort with her role until years later, citing her mother's involvement in her knowledge of the criticism.[49]. When asked what kind of world she would like to live in, King said she wished "people could love everybody". November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007 Santa Monica, California | Age 51 Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., dies . Her death came a year after her mother died. Joseph Lowery, one of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement. In 1956, a number of white supremacists bombed the King household. [130] During a 2009 reunion at her alma mater Smith College, a walk was done in her memory by fellow alumnae.[131]. King joined her mother and siblings in marches and was lauded by such figures as Harry Belafonte, who established a trust fund for her and her siblings. She and her mother, at the time of the bomb's detonation, were in the rear section of their home. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. The next-youngest, Dexter, leaned silently against his mother's side. Yolanda King, the eldest child of the Rev. Positive reception came to this interview, and Yolanda was even called the "leader of the 16-year-olds" for her "calmness, her concern," and "her vision". [63] A few months after King and Shabazz met, the pair decided to collaborate on a theatrical work, resulting in Stepping into Tomorrow. Yolanda King would have been 51 years old at the time of death or 59 years old today. To Yolanda, it seemed as if adults naturally went to jail occasionally, because all those she knew seemed to do that. The statement was made while she was in the presence of 800 people who gathered to honor her father at the Everett Theatre. 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. "She was the first daughter of the civil rights movement and never shamed her parents or her co-activists.". [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". 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." 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. #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { In response, she pushed for "the goal" to be "color acceptance. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { She was an actress and writer, known for King (1978), JAG (1995) and Death of a Prophet (1981). "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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Born in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. Bernice King, Yolanda King and Martin Luther King III. "[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. 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. The two were the same age. [17] For Christmas 1963, King and her siblings accepted a sacrificial Christmas as appealed by their parents and only received a single gift. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. [24] In February 1982, King was a speaker during the centennial of Anne Spencer's birth. She called for Americans to memorialize those who gave their lives for "the struggle for peace and justice. Yolanda King, the Rev. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. [32] After the funeral, she was visited by classmates from Spring Street Middle School with flowers and cards. She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Staff writer Kevin Moran contributed to this report. She debunked complacency in having any role in progression of her father's dream. Yolanda King, the eldest daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, has died in California, family friends said on Wednesday. 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. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. King recalled that her mother had been the main parent and dominant figure in their home, while her father was often away. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. In the 1990s, she supported a retrial of James Earl Ray and publicly stated that she did not hate him. Yolanda King, shown here in a 2005 photograph, sought to encourage "personal growth and positive social change." When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. Legal Statement. However, she was still misjudged and mistrusted because of her skin color, based on perceptions founded solely upon her relationship with her father. "We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," said Yolanda, urging those who honor the Kings' work to question their own beliefs on prejudice and be a personal force for peace and love. "[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. 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. Al Sharpton , U.S.. Al Sharpton called Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right.". She was closest to my age, so while the adults worried aloud about what King's assassination would mean for the future of the civil rights movement, I wondered about the future of Yolanda and her siblings. [63][64] The theater company was based in New York City and Los Angeles and focused on addressing the issues that their fathers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, spoke of in their lifetimes. Members of the chapter are "deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Ms. Yolanda King,'' spokeswoman Tiffany Travis said today. She was one of the first black children at a previously segregated elementary school in Atlanta, where she endured racial epithets. 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. She founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. He told her that there were many whites who were not racist and wanted her to go but there were many who were and did not want her to go. } [93] During a presentation in May 2000, King was asked if the human race would ever become "color blind". 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