Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi." She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." Please enter valid email address to continue. She also urged the audience at Ebenezer to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year in January to ask tough questions about their own beliefs on prejudice. [85] In October, she uttered her belief that her father's dream of integration was not fully understood. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a statement. 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. Yolanda King was born November 17, 1955, shortly before the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, An important early memory was that she wanted to go to Funtown, a local amusement park, with the rest of her class, but was barred from doing so due to her race. ATLANTA Yolanda King, the Rev. Four days later, she and her brothers accompanied their mother to appear at Memphis City Hall. 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." "[73] 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.[74]. "[37] King openly stated years later that she did not hate James Earl Ray.[38]. Al Sharpton, a black political leader, said he expressed his condolences to her brother Martin Luther King III on Wednesday. In the early hours of May 19, 2007, King's body was brought to Atlanta, Georgia by private plane belonging to Bishop Eddie Long. Martin Luther King Jr. 's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. display: none; King also voiced her dislike of the assumption that she would behave just like her mother and father, and the difficulty of being perceived as not being someone others could talk to. [116], Bernice King said it was "very difficult standing here blessed as her one and only sister. Yolanda at that same ceremony used her craft as an actress to deliver a tribute to her parents, performing a series of skits telling stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala. Maya Angelou wrote a tribute to her, which was read during the memorial service. [86], On February 1, 1994, King attempted to speak before a diverse class of students at North Central College. Yolanda King wrote and produced plays; gave speeches to groups that included elementary schoolchildren and Fortune 500 corporations; and acted in commercial movies. [89], In the fall of 1995, at age 39, she joined Ilyasah Shabazz and Reena Evers in saluting their mothers as they chaired an attempt at registering one million African-American women to vote in the presidential election of 1996. [93] During a presentation in May 2000, King was asked if the human race would ever become "color blind". During the family's interview with Mike Wallace in December 1968, Yolanda was introduced by her mother and revealed her role in keeping the family together. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51. ", during a celebration that marked what would have been her father's sixty-fourth birthday. [82], 25 years after her father's assassination, she went to his gravesite. She was also on the student council. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said. Born in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. [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. When asked by a young boy what she remembered most about her father, she admitted that her father was not able to spend much time with her and the rest of her family. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King participate in a musical tribute to their mother at the new Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. She mentioned the possibility that the event could have been a calling for Americans to put their loyalty towards "their race, tribe and nation", as her father once said. [114] She was 51. She was 12 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. died. ATLANTA Yolanda Denise King, the Rev. Death of Yolanda King. Maybe when I'm older I won't be able to stand Yoki, but Yolanda sounds so formal!" In honor of her father, King promoted a show in Los Angeles entitled "Achieving the Dream" in 2001. Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." She also found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. "[126] Like her parents and siblings, King did not publicly affiliate with a political party. She allowed me to give myself permission to be me." She stated that her father had a "magnificent dream", but admitted that "it still is only a dream. On May 15, 2007, she told her brother Dexter that she was tired. People Photos Purpose. #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Yolanda King was the founder and head of Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." [11] When she was 6 years old, she was saddened by classmates' remarks that her father was a "jailbird". 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. November 28, 2007 . King aroused controversy in high school for her role in a play. Bernice King, Yolanda King and Martin Luther King III. "[24] King appeared in the film Selma, Lord, Selma, based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches as Miss Bright. 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.". She appeared in numerous films and played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries King. On December 9, 1990, she canceled a planned appearance in a play in Tucson, Arizona[75] and ignored a boycott going on at the time by civil rights groups and other activists for Arizona voters rejecting the proposal of Martin Luther King Jr. Day being celebrated there. They look at me when I'm talking as if this is science fiction. Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. All four of MLK's children . [71] King served as a spokesperson for her mother during the illness that would eventually lead to her death. Being the oldest, she had to watch her three younger siblings; Martin Luther King III, Dexter King and Bernice King and referred to the three as independent when she watched them whenever their mother went out of town. The children referred to her father as an "Uncle Tom" and she was scared that he would go down in history as such. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. In 1966, Yolanda listened to a speech her father gave when he was addressing a rally. Yolanda and Martin III sat nearby, numb with sadness. <img src="http://members.cox.net/jnashatty/P1020216.jpg" height=450 width=600> The Associated Press contributed to this report. She called him my first buddy, saying, I was tremendously loved.. Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era. 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. "[109] She found her mother's personal papers in her home. Heart Attack caused Yolanda King's death in 2007. Andrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King, and Martin Luther King III, attend the "March On for Washington and Voting Rights" on August 28, 2021 in. "Yolanda was lovely. She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. Higher Ground Productions: www.yolanda-king.com, Yolanda King, daughter of MLK Jr., dies at 51. Bernice King. . Sometime after Martin Luther King's assassination, King told her mother "Mom, I'm not going to cry because my dad is not dead. [95] 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.[96]. Her educational accomplishments continued when she earned a Master of Fine Arts from New York University in 1979 (via Stanford). [36], 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. King received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a master's degree in theater from New York University,[59] and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marywood University. She was involved in a sibling feud that pitted her and her brother Dexter against their brother Martin Luther King III and sister Bernice King for the sale of the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. King and her brother Martin III bragged about their selflessness at school. Members of the chapter are "deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Ms. Yolanda King,'' spokeswoman Tiffany Travis said today. [39] On April 4, 1970, the second anniversary of her father's death, she and her sister Bernice attended their grandfather Martin Luther King, Sr.'s silent prayer for their father at his gravesite. May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM None of them have children, and there will be no third generation of Kings to carry on Martin Luther King's legacy. I could let the rough edges show., Yolanda King, 51, Actor and Dr. Kings Daughter, Dies, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/us/17king.html. Her mother, Coretta Scott King, died last year. 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". Despite this, Shabazz still appeared in the state and performed in the play. With Yolanda King, she also founded a group named Nucleus, Inc. in 1977. One of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement, the Rev. 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. [106] She became a spokesperson for the American Heart Association after her mother's stroke, promoting a campaign to raise awareness about strokes. "Volunteers and staff of the American Heart Association will hold the Power of Legacy dinner on Saturday evening, which will pay special tribute to King and her legacy.''. Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of the Rev. Besides her brother Dexter Scott King, Yolanda King is survived by another brother, Martin Luther King III, and her sister, the Rev. (After all, she was a theater major.) She wrote her first play at 8, and her mother sent her to acting school the next year. [33] Bill Cosby flew to Atlanta after the funeral and entertained King and her siblings. [3] Yolanda and her mother were not harmed. She just moved upstairs." Though her mother kept her nave to the controversies so she could "fulfill [her] objective, which was to do the play", that did not stop her from learning of the negativity implemented from her role years later. But the circumstances surrounding her death make people draw conclusions about her cause of death. [25] Her memories of her father prompted her to state that he "believed we were all divine. It was the first and only institution where King was not harassed or mistreated because of who her father was. [57] Her mother's support helped in starting her acting career. I was just someone who loved someone, and I knew he had done great things and now people didn't appreciate it." And that's how we can effectively commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.". [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. She founded a dramatic group with Atallah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, the slain civil rights leader, and started a theatrical production company, Higher Ground Productions, dedicated to what she called personal empowerment. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through acting and motivational speaking, has died. King made it clear that while she had not been "endeared" to the institution, she was still "grateful" for her experience. [24] She began speaking publicly at the age of ten and even filled in for her parents on occasion. In her teenage years, she became an effective leader of her high school class and was covered by the magazines Jet and Ebony. #inline-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-93e66a4a-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who melded her father's. Many in attendance did not know her, but came out of respect for the King family's history of peace protests and social justice. 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. But walking through the first part of the exhibit I felt that terror. This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial. Yolanda was an advocate for racial and social justice, workers' rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and general nonviolence. 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.". Blame the Federal Reserve. Even in her infancy, Yolanda was faced with the threats her father was given when they extended to his family. At her father's former Atlanta church, Ebenezer Baptist, she performed a series of one-actor skits that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Alabama. When King was 16, she received attention in Jet in 1972, where she talked about what her father's famous name was doing for her life. In 1960, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she was immersed in social upheaval. } [121] She disliked cliches used to define her father and expressed this to Attallah Shabazz, and recalled having seen a play where her father was a "wimp" and carried The Bible with him everywhere.[122]. Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006. Yolanda King learned about racial discrimination at 3 or 4 when she was barred from an amusement park. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "Yolanda was lovely. From left: Dexter King, the Rev. I was a high-school junior when Martin Luther King was assassinated. }, First published on May 16, 2007 / 5:32 AM. Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. "I'm Yoki," Yolanda King said, smiling. Family (2) Trivia (7) Daughter of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. Yolanda Denise King, 51, the eldest daughter of the late civil rights leader Rev. She also appeared in Ghosts of Mississippi and founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions. Yolanda King, 51, Actor and Dr. King's Daughter, Dies By Douglas Martin May 17, 2007 Yolanda King, the eldest child of the Rev. Born 1950 and died 2007. Yolanda King: 'Open My Eyes, Open My Soul'. Her decision in 1971 to play a prostitute in a school production of Bill Manhoffs Owl and the Pussycat, which involved kissing a white man, scandalized the white and black communities. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. She was the godmother of acclaimed actress RaVen Larrymore Kelly. No blood children, maybe, but as Yolanda pointed out in an NPR interview a few years ago, when people feel empowered, they become part of the King legacy: "I think it takes that for people to be effective change agents and to be champions of peace in their own lives. Not long after, she collapsed in the Santa Monica . Showing Editorial results for yolanda king. Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem. [13][14] Ms. Kings consistent goal was to infect her work, including her films, with her familys deeper purposes. Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect I don't have to try and prove anything to anyone anymore. November 17, 1955 - May 15, 2007 Santa Monica, California | Age 51 Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., dies . With Elodia Tate, she edited a motivational book emphasizing the importance of diversity. 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. Al Sharpton , U.S.. [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. Yolanda King's bio. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn said to King that he "sensed I was in the presence of a great man when I met your father. What is the birth name of. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. King recalled that her mother had been the main parent and dominant figure in their home, while her father was often away. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch. 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