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. On her company's Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change. 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. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., Yolanda Denise King was just an infant when her home was bombed amid the turbulent civil rights era. The King Center in Atlanta set up to preserve the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King says his oldest child, Yolanda Denise King, has died. She was the godmother of acclaimed actress RaVen Larrymore Kelly. All rights reserved. She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. King served as a spokesperson for her mother during the illness that would eventually lead to her death. "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle," said the Rev. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Positive reception came to this interview, and Yolanda was even called the "leader of the 16-year-olds" for her "calmness, her concern,"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". Her deepest memories were the love of her father, who taught her to swim and playfully pummeled her but never spanked her. Garrow says his first inclination when he heard of Yolanda's death was: This is it. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. [42] Of the King children, Yolanda was the only one to attend Grady High School, as her siblings would go to different high schools following her graduation. 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. "[70] Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. By the time she was an adult, she had grown to become a supporter of gay rights and an ally to the LGBT community, as was her mother. 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." Bernice King, Yolanda King and Martin Luther King III. 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 died on May 15, 2007 in Santa Monica, California, USA. The children referred to her father as an "Uncle Tom" and she was scared that he would go down in history as such. Death of Yolanda King. "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. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a brief statement. She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. I dream things that never were and say why not?". Yolanda has mostly been portrayed in films that revolve around her parents. She recalled having met a friend that was scared of being acquainted with her, because of her father's identity and expressed her thoughts in the colleges she wished to attend. And that's how we can now commemorate his daughter. She debunked complacency in having any role in progression of her father's dream. [18] In 1964, upon learning her father would receive the Nobel Peace Prize, she asked her mother what her father was going to do with the money he was receiving in addition to the award. Ms. King was 12 on April 4, 1968, when she heard a news bulletin on television saying her father had been assassinated in Memphis. [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. From left: Dexter King, the Rev. After having been a public speaker for over twenty years, Yolanda recalled her talents having "happened very naturally growing up in a house like mine". King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. "[127] Joseph Lowery stated; "She was a princess and she walked and carried herself like a princess. ", "Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all," he said. [35], In regards to the possibility that her father could have been saved, King said she doubted that her father could have lived much longer given all the stress he had during his tenure as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Al Sharpton, a black political leader, said he expressed his condolences to her brother Martin Luther King III on Wednesday. She occasionally experienced threats to her life, designed to intimidate her parents, and was bullied at school. She portrayed Rosa Parks, who sparked the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her bus seat in a miniseries, King (1978), and Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X, in Death of a Prophet (1981). 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.". A young cousin who lived in Atlanta and had worked on the Carter campaign had stopped by during inauguration week. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. [30] Four days later, she and her family accompanied their mother to Memphis City Hall on her own terms, as she and her brothers had wanted to come. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid [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. 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. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, the Rev. An alumna of Smith College after graduating in 1976, she was the subject of an essay among the "remarkable women" during a celebration during the college's one hundred and twenty-fifth year[56] and she was a member of the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (the official national memorial to her father) and was founding Director of the King Center's Cultural Affairs Program. Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect In honor of her father, King promoted a show in Los Angeles entitled "Achieving the Dream" in 2001. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch. Martin Luther King Jr., died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 51. At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. ATLANTA (AP) On April 4, 1968, a movement lost its patriarch when the Rev. She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke. 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. In 1956, a number of white supremacists bombed the King household. Martin Luther King Jr. , 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. [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". She served on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, was the first national Ambassador for the American Stroke Association's "Power to End Stroke" Campaign, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Human Rights Campaign, and held a lifetime membership in the NAACP. [110], She preached in January 2007 to an audience in Ebenezer Baptist Church urging them to be an oasis for peace and love, as well as to use her father's holiday as starting ground for their own interpretations of prejudice. The two were the same age. Gamilah Lumumba Shabazz Gamilah was born in 1964, the year before her dad's death. 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. ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. Yolanda was born at St. Jude's Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama to Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr[2]., she was only two weeks old when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. 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. [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. Yolanda King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. King outlived her mother by only 16 months, succumbing to complications related to a chronic heart condition on May 15, 2007. [10], Her mother referred to her as being a confidant during the time following her husband's assassination. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. 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. Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. Yolanda died in May. [50] King would ultimately attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts after graduating from high school. 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.". [51], After graduating from high school, she went to Smith College. 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