Jesse Jackson stated that King "lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle. She is the daughter of Martin Luther King III, 62 and wife, Arndrea Waters, 45. [110] She spoke on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2007 to attendants 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,". Her mother started to realize that Yolanda had become more aware of the possibility that her father could be killed as well. 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. "He said that we were moving into a new phase of the struggle. [105] She became a spokesman for the American Heart Association after her mother's stroke, promoting a campaign to raise awareness about strokes. She was credited with having her father's sense of humor.[1]. Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King and their daughter Yolanda Renee King have taken the helm of the Drum Major Institute to carry the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into the 21st century, democratize that legacy, and create the beloved community through education, direct action and engagement, inspiration, collaboration, partnerships and dialogue. 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". YOLANDA RENEE KING Martin Luther King granddaughter. [67], She celebrated her father's holiday on January 16, 1986 and attended a breakfast in Chicago with Mayor Harold Washington. Her mother tried to debunk this, insisting that they would still get it. In the interview with the magazine, She related how people expected her to be "stuck up" and referred to it as one of the "handicaps" of being Martin Luther King's child. [84] In October, she uttered her belief that her father's dream of integration was not understood fully. Yolanda Renee King stands at a great height with decent body measurements. 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", "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,”. [113] She was 51. We cannot be satisfied with a few black faces in high places when millions of our people have been locked out." Yolanda not only continued the legacy of her father but also contributed to bring about a positive social change. She received a standing ovation afterwards, alongside a thunderous applause. [109], She preached in January 2007 to an audience in Ebenezer Baptist Church 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. "And I want to ask the young people here to join me in pledging that we have only just begun to fight - and that we will be the generation that moves from me to we. 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[55] 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. 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". [81], 25 years after her father's assassination, she went to his gravesite. Yolanda Renee King is currently 9 years old. "[86] 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 joined her mother and siblings in marches, and she was lauded by such noted figures as Harry Belafonte, who established a trust fund for her and her siblings. In response, she pushed for "the goal" to be "color acceptance. [113] A public memorial for Yolanda King was held on May 24, 2007, at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia. "[72] At this point in her life, King also served as director of cultural affairs for the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and was tasked with raising and directing funds for all artistic events.[73]. Yolanda Renee King never met her grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joseph Lowery stated; "She was a princess and she walked and carried herself like a princess. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. [35], When asked about what pressures emerged from being a daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., King stated that "as soon as people heard me speak, they would compare me to my father ... My siblings had the same kind of pressure. Yolanda Renee King, 12, talks to TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones about following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Coretta Scott King, and grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr., as an activist. 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. Yolanda’s grandfather was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "[69] There was such a need, like they were looking for a miracle. In 1993, she debunked any 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. "Less than a year before he was assassinated, my grandfather predicted this very moment," she said. Coretta Scott King began to decline in health after suffering a stroke in August 2005. [15] She predicted at that time that all of the "Negro leaders" would be killed and the non-leading African-Americans would agree to segregation. She debunked complacency in having any role in progression of her father's dream. Yolanda was one of a handful of students to speak at the … She was also on the student council. King, Malcolm X Tour With Play That Boosts Self Improvement", illness that would eventually lead to her death, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, "Yolanda King's Stage Direction; Using Theater to Fulfill Her Mission-and Her Father's Mission", "Coretta Scott King biography on Achievement.org", "King's Daughter Urges Cultures To Blend Talents", "Dr. King's 3 Children Visit Him; He Is Allowed Out of Jail Cell; Wife Says They 'Accept' His Absence From Home as in Aid of Negroes", "Dr. MLK speaks to his daughter abt Racism "Fun Town, "JFK's Still-Vibrant Example Continues to Inspire Millions", "Nobel's $$$ and Cents Interest King's Daughter", "Yolanda King, actor and Dr. Martin Luther King's Daughter, dies at 51", "Yolanda King helps others live their dreams", "Yoda King, 51; Child of Civil Rights Leader", "King's Daughter Says Poverty, War Top Issues", "Mrs. Kennedy Visits Mrs. King And 4 Children Before Funeral", "King's Kids Assured Education by Belafonte", "Dr. King's Father Leads Silent Prayer at Rights Leader's Grave", "The Vision Marches On With Martin Luther King Jr.'s Children", "Yolanda King, 51; Child of Civil Rights Leader", "King's Daughter Tells What His Famous Name is Doing to Her Life", "Yolanda King Uses Spotlight As Tool For Change", "Dr. King's Family Observes 7th Anniversary of Slaying", "Actress, Producer, Author Yolanda King '76 Dies", "Yolanda King, daughter of MLK, dies at age 51", "King, Malcom X kin get their act together", "King, Malcolm X Daughters' Play Will Be Staged", "Malcolm X's, King Children Are Soul Mates", "NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Dr. King's Daughter Assails Her Generation", "Yolanda King, Harold Washington on Achievement Awards", "REAGAN TELLS PUPILS OF STRUGGLE WON BY DR. KING", "Black History Parade, King Speech Draw Thousands", "Daughters of King, Malcolm X Also Have a Message", "Son Dexter To Take Reign of The King Center in Atlanta", "2 Black Leaders' Daughters May Ignore Arizona Boycott", "Yolanda King Cancels Appearance in Arizona", "U.S. The four children of the civil rights activist noticed "something was happening". 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). Yolanda is the granddaughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. [44], At 15 she was subject to controversy when she appeared in the play The Owl and the Pussycat with a white male lead. [62] A few months after King and Shabazz met, the pair decided to collaborate on a theatrical work, resulting in Stepping into Tomorrow. She was a reserved and quiet person who loved acting. When she replied "Your father is going to jail so that you can go to Funtown." Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, speaks as her father, Martin Luther King III, listens during … Yolanda King was an African–American activist and actor. . 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." At that time, she was also called by Andrea Young, whose own father had insisted that she should. Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. In addition to King, other speakers included the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, and Jacob Blake, who echoed King's pleas for social justice and racial equality. 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. King and Kelly starred in three films together, HBO's "America's Dream" starring Danny Glover and Wesley Snipes, award-winning period film, "Odessa" that deals with racial unrest in which King gives a stellar performance as a nanny who lost her son to racial violence, and in Rob Reiner's film "Ghosts of Mississippi" about the assassination of civil rights leader Medgar Evers starring Whoopi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin, King and Kelly played the adult and child versions of Reena Evers. The newborn weighed in at 7.5 pounds. [16] For Christmas 1963, King and her siblings accepted a sacrificial Christmas as appealed by their parents and only received a single gift. She stated in 2000 to USA Today, that her acting "allowed me to find an expression and outlet for the pain and anger I felt about losing my father,". "[126] Joseph Lowery stated; "She was a princess and she walked and carried herself like a princess. She took classes taught by Manning Marable and Johnnella Butler, and became satisfied with her choice of a college. "[99] While in Dallas in March 2004, King related; "It's only in the past half-dozen years or so that I have felt comfortable in my own skin. Her mother told her not to, since her father would not want that. The movement was in her DNA. [24], 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. 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. Background Checks [94] 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.[95]. "[53] On April 4, 1975, King joined her family in placing azaleas over her father's crypt, marking the seventh anniversary of his assassination.[54]. [14], On November 22, 1963, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, she learned of his death at school. On Aug. 28, 12-year-old Yolanda Renee King gave a moving speech at the March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the same spot where her grandfather Rev. [23] 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. 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