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The Civil Rights Movement : Coretta Scott King, Jr., Malcom X, And Rosa Parks

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When people think of leaders of the Civil Rights movement, they think of big names like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and Rosa Parks. However, there were many people behind the scenes that had as big of an impact as these forerunners had. These are the transparent heroes; the underdogs. The ones that did so much for the cause yet were never truly recognized as being such a big influence. One of these unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement is Coretta Scott King. After her husband, the great Martin Luther King, Jr., died she strived to continue the momentum of the movement, while also fighting for her own causes. Coretta Scott King played a tremendous role in the Civil Rights Movement, not only in her aiding her husband, but as a public leader as well.
Coretta Scott King’s life began when she was born on April 27th, 1927 in Heiberger, Alabama to Obadiah, lovingly referred to as “Obe”, and Bernice McMurray Scott (World Heritage Encyclopedia, 2014, para. 1). Coretta had two older sisters, Eydthe and Eunice Scott, and a younger brother named after their father; Eunice did not survive early childhood (2014). According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, the Scott family had owned a small cotton farm since the Civil War and struggled greatly, like most Americans during that time period, to make ends meet during the Great Depression (Uffelman, 2008, para. 2). The Scott children picked cotton after school in order to make money for their family while their father ran a barber
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