MLK widow honored at Georgia Capitol News
MLK widow honored at Georgia Capitol

[JURIST] Coretta Scott King, widow of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. and herself a respected civil rights leader, was honored Saturday at the Georgia Capitol [backgrounder]. Capitol police estimate that as many as 10,000 people [Atlanta Journal-Constitution report] passed through the Capitol to pay their respects as she lay in state, waiting in line for over two hours. King, 78, passed away [King Center press release; JURIST report] Monday at an alternative medical clinic in Mexico. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue [official website] escorted the casket into the Capitol building with King’s children, marking a sharp contrast to the funeral procession of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, when then Governor Lester Maddox refused to authorize a public tribute. Listen to an excerpt [recorded audio] from a 1967 interview with Martin Luther King speaking about his wife's influence on him. AP has more. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has local coverage.

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