Despite this, King managed to keep up her grades and became involved in high school politics, serving as class president for two years. } The next year, Ms. Kings uncle A. D. King, her fathers sole brother, accidentally drowned. King was scheduled to visit Houston this weekend to attend numerous events related to the "Power to End Stroke'' campaign sponsored by the local chapter of the American Heart Association, Houston Gulf Coast Division. "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. Yolanda King's cause of death remains unknown, although her family including her sister Bernice King and two brothers, Martin and Dexter King believe a heart problem may have contributed to her death (via NPR). She was just 10 weeks old when the King family home was bombed in Jan. 30, 1956, as her father attended a boycott rally. 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 held membership at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her father helped found in 1957, and she was a notable advocate for non-violence. "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. [116], Bernice King said it was "very difficult standing here blessed as her one and only sister. 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. He added she was "thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama. She was credited with having her father's sense of humor.[1]. When her father was assassinated on April 4, 1968, the 12-year-old King showed her composure during the public funeral and mourning events. 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. 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. She debunked complacency in having any role in progression of her father's dream. Martin Luther King Jr. 's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, has died. [31], King was visited by Mrs. Kennedy before her father's funeral. "[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. [7] King's father eventually was satisfied with the nickname "Yoki", and wished that if they had a second daughter, they would name her something simpler. 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. In response, she pushed for "the goal" to be "color acceptance. And that's how we can effectively commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.". Market data provided by Factset. King and Dexter were in favor of sale, but their other siblings were not. 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. "[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. She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King" and appeared in "Ghosts of Mississippi" a drama based on the true story of a white supremacist accused of the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers (via NPR). Davis said Houston heart association officials have received no specific information on the cause of King's death but added that King had a family history of heart disease and stroke. The family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said. [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. Rest in peace Yoki! In 1956, a number of white supremacists bombed the King household. [81] In October, King gave support for a Cabrini-Green family that wants to escape the violence, and a fundraiser for their cause. Arrangements were to be announced later, the family said in a statement. 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. They look at me when I'm talking as if this is science fiction. 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). Her deepest memories were the love of her father, who taught her to swim and playfully pummeled her but never spanked her. With Elodia Tate, she edited a motivational book emphasizing the importance of diversity. [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. 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. [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. Ms. King was meeting her brother Dexter King at a friends home when she collapsed and died. Yolanda King learned about racial discrimination at 3 or 4 when she was barred from an amusement park. 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. [52] With her death, the only remaining members of King's father's immediate family were her grandfather Martin Luther King, Sr. and aunt Christine King Ferris. She felt teenagers were confused and were using drugs as a method to escape their problems. I have chosen to continue to promote 'we're one, the oneness of us, and shine the spotlight,' as my father did. With Yolanda King, she also founded a group named Nucleus, Inc. in 1977. Jesse Jackson, an aide of Martin Luther King Jr. "The movement was in her DNA. She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. , Rev. after numerous attempts to explain the issue to her, Yolanda finally understood. (After all, she was a theater major.) A young cousin who lived in Atlanta and had worked on the Carter campaign had stopped by during inauguration week. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. 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. King aroused controversy in high school for her role in a play. 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." Her career as an actor and speaker combined her father's activism with her own artistic pursuits. He would be killed a scant three months later by an assassin's bullet. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. Maybe when I'm older I won't be able to stand Yoki, but Yolanda sounds so formal!" This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Born 1950 and died 2007. [79] King stressed in 1992 that love would help people make their mark on the world. Her mother told her not to, since her father would not want that. She just moved upstairs." Yolanda has mostly been portrayed in films that revolve around her parents. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King participate in a musical tribute to their mother at the new Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. She was a young girl during his famous stay in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail. "Thanks for having us.". On May 15, 2007, she told her brother Dexter that she was tired. She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke. [82], 25 years after her father's assassination, she went to his gravesite. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. Lawmakers and activists including Andrea Waters King , Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Rev. 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. "[27], On the evening of April 4, 1968, when she was 12, Yolanda returned with her mother from Easter-dress shopping when Jesse Jackson called the family and reported that her father had been shot. Alongside the physician that took care of her mother, Dr. Maggie Mermin and her sister, Yolanda told the press that her mother was making progress on a daily basis and was expected to make a full recovery. On her company's Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change. King was born in the midst of the turbulent civil rights movement and was only an infant when the King home was bombed in 1956. She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke. 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. Yolanda Denise King, 51, the eldest daughter of the late civil rights leader Rev. Coretta King had established her own career as a civil rights activist, and after her husband's assassination in 1968, she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (via Biography). [39] During a Sunday visit to Church, King was forced to stand before the congregation and explain her actions. She became a secondary caregiver to her younger siblings. [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]. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat" Legal Statement. Thank you for her voice. A few days later, we were glued to the television as we watched his funeral. 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. In high school, she was president of her sophomore and junior classes and vice president of her senior class. 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. ", 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.". Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi." She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." 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. Below, she speaks at a 2000 Human Rights Campaign gala. The four King children gathered at the February 2006 funeral of their mother, Coretta Scott King. After she suggested that he would most likely give it all away, King laughed with her mother. In life, she said, I had to be prim and proper and poised the King daughter. All four of MLK's children . Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. U.S. Yolanda King Dead At Age 51 May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM / CBS/AP The King Center in Atlanta set up to preserve the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King says his oldest. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. 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