Office of Public Relations

Pomona, NJ 08240

 

 

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Presents Guest Speaker Mrs. Coretta Scott King

Distinguished Lecture Series Sponsored by Student Senate

 

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Contact: Tim Kelly

Dottie Munro

Stockton Public Relations

(609) 652-4950

 

GALLOWAY TWP, NJ - As part of the 2004 Distinguished Lecture Series, the Student Senate at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey will present guest speaker Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $1 with student ID or proof of membership in the Stockton College Alumni Association. General admission tickets for the public are $20.00.

 

Coretta Scott King was born and raised in Alabama during the height of segregation and civil unrest. A strong academic record provided her with a scholarship to attend Antioch College in Ohio. There she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and education. She won a second scholarship to study concert singing at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where she completed her degree in voice and violin. It was in Boston that she met the young theology student named Martin Luther King, Jr. From then on, Coretta Scott King would walk by his side inspiring citizens, both black and white, to defy the segregation laws of American society.

 

While raising the couples four children, Coretta Scott King became instrumental in staging what became known as the Freedom Concerts, held in some of the most distinguished venues in the country. The Freedom Concerts would become fundraisers for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the American civil rights movement.

 

There was an increasing demand for Mrs. King as a public speaker. She became the first woman to deliver the Class Day address at Harvard, and the first woman to preach at a statutory service at St. Pauls Cathedral in London. She served as a Womens Strike for Peace delegate to the 17-nation Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 1962.

 

After the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King built The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. This Center would become a living memorial to her husbands dream and to his life.

 

In l969, she published the first volume of her autobiography, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1974 she formed the Full Employment Action Council, a broad coalition of over 100 religious, labor, business, civil and womens rights organizations dedicated to a national policy of full employment and equal economic opportunity.

 

Coretta Scott King has become an international figure of peace and social change as well, and continues to serve the cause of justice and human rights. Her travels have taken her throughout the world on goodwill missions. She stood with Nelson Mandela when he was sworn in as President of South Africa.

 

Mrs. King led the successful campaign that established Dr. Kings birthday as a national holiday in the United States. His birthday is now marked by annual celebrations in over 100 countries.

 

Tickets for the event are available at the Performing Arts Center box office. For more information, please contact the box office at 609-652-4661.