Coretta Scott

Coretta Scott King, a pioneer of the civil rights movement who marched alongside her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in the fight for equality and carried his torch for nearly four decades after his death, died early yesterday in Mexico. She was 78. In a statement, the King family said Mrs. King was seeking treatment for ovarian cancer at a holistic hospital in Rosarito, Mexico. The family said doctors in the United States had declared her cancer terminal and the family wanted to explore alternative treatments.

The creation of a memorial garden to honor Coretta Scott King will ensure "that generations are going to know this incredible woman," King's daughter told a crowd of hundreds Thursday. "The extraordinary thing about Coretta Scott King was that before she met Martin Luther King Jr., she was already on a mission to change the face of America," Bernice A. King told those assembled in Edgewater for the unveiling of the memorial. Her mother, who died in 2006 at the age of 84, had been an activist before marrying the civil rights leader and became his greatest fan, greatest adviser and greatest supporter, she said.

LITHONIA, Ga. -- Coretta Scott King was laid to rest yesterday, after a funeral where white-gloved ushers welcomed 15,000 people, including four presidents, three governors, three planeloads of Congress members, celebrities, gospel stars and figures of the civil rights movement. The six-hour service, held in the vast two-tiered sanctuary of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, was marked by elegiac moments, standing ovations, and, with the Clintons and Bushes sharing a podium, some overt political gibes about the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.

After retiring recently as a teacher's assistant for the Anne Arundel County schools system, Idamae Sims says she's far from wealthy. But when she learned about plans to create a memorial honoring human rights activist Coretta Scott King, she donated $1,000. "I felt that I had to do it," Sims, 72, said Sunday. "I was born in 1938. I lived through the civil rights era. Dr. [Martin Luther] King and his wife did a lot. I felt I should give back. " Sims is one of dozens of Marylanders who gathered Sunday in Edgewater to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Coretta Scott King Memorial Gardens, a $200,000 "living memorial" to the activist, who died on January 31, 2006.

Tomorrow morning, along with the winners of the illustrious Caldecott and Newbery Medals for children's literature, the American Library Association will announce the recipients of the Coretta Scott King Awards -- started 35 years ago to recognize African-American authors of literature for children and young adults who had been shut out of the longer-standing honors. The awards have launched the careers of writers and artists who went on to greater fame. Walter Dean Myers, first recognized in 1980 for The Young Landlords, has won five King awards along with numerous other accolades, and has been a National Book Award finalist.

Coretta Scott King told a crowd of several hundred people at a Johns Hopkins Hospital auditorium yesterday that even in times of terrorism they should practice her late husband's philosophy of nonviolence. King's speech at Turner Auditorium began Baltimore's celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. She told the standing-room-only audience that a military response alone to the events of Sept. 11 might "sow seeds of a new generation of terrorists." "We are the nation that must lead the way to multinational and multiracial unity," King said.

ATLANTA --After years of trying to sell the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s archives to a library or university, the King family will instead put them up for auction on June 30, Sotheby's announced yesterday. The sale, expected to bring $15 million to $30 million, will take place exactly five months after the death of Coretta Scott King, King's widow, who was keenly interested in finding an institutional home for the papers. The buyer will determine the future accessibility of the papers.

My most vivid memory of Coretta Scott King -- who died at the age of 78 Monday night -- was the look of hurt on her face when I saw her on television that day in 1984. It was a presidential election year, which brings out the silliness, the vindictiveness, the churlishness and the downright human cussedness of Americans across racial and political lines. And it was the year that Jesse Jackson made his first run for president. I couldn't remember where it was. But thank God for Lexis Nexis, which allows reporters to search for old news stories.

NATIONAL Coretta Scott King dies at 78 Coretta Scott King, a pioneer of the civil rights movement who marched alongside her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in the fight for equality and carried his torch for nearly four decades after his death, died yesterday in Mexico. She was 78. pg 1a MARYLAND Same-sex union debate opens The contentious debate over same-sex unions began yesterday in the General Assembly, as a House of Delegates committee held a marathon hearing over a proposed constitutional ban. pg 1a Funds race close in 3rd District Federal campaign finance reports show that no single candidate has emerged as the fundraising frontrunner in the crowded race in the 3rd District, Maryland's only open congressional seat.

LLOYD DAVIS, 79 Aided King's widow Lloyd Davis, who worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow to build Atlanta's King Center and establish the holiday honoring the civil rights leader, died of cancer Monday in Chevy Chase. A longtime federal housing official, he came to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change about 1980 as executive vice president and chief operating officer, working alongside Coretta Scott King to maintain her husband's legacy. Later, he was executive director of the federal King Holiday Commission.

LLOYD DAVIS, 79 Aided King's widow Lloyd Davis, who worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow to build Atlanta's King Center and establish the holiday honoring the civil rights leader, died of cancer Monday in Chevy Chase. A longtime federal housing official, he came to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change about 1980 as executive vice president and chief operating officer, working alongside Coretta Scott King to maintain her husband's legacy. Later, he was executive director of the federal King Holiday Commission.

ATLANTA --After years of trying to sell the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s archives to a library or university, the King family will instead put them up for auction on June 30, Sotheby's announced yesterday. The sale, expected to bring $15 million to $30 million, will take place exactly five months after the death of Coretta Scott King, King's widow, who was keenly interested in finding an institutional home for the papers. The buyer will determine the future accessibility of the papers.

When assigned by The Sun to cover the viewing and funeral last week of Coretta Scott King, the first lady of the civil rights movement, I was stunned. I applied for credentials, but security was tight and credentials were not to be had. I was frozen out of the viewing the day before the funeral, and I knew the funeral itself would be even less inviting. Showing up in the pre-sunrise hours didn't help. Ten thousand people would be allowed to enter the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, but I couldn't schmooze my way in, even to step foot in the lobby.

LITHONIA, Ga. -- Coretta Scott King was laid to rest yesterday, after a funeral where white-gloved ushers welcomed 15,000 people, including four presidents, three governors, three planeloads of Congress members, celebrities, gospel stars and figures of the civil rights movement. The six-hour service, held in the vast two-tiered sanctuary of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, was marked by elegiac moments, standing ovations, and, with the Clintons and Bushes sharing a podium, some overt political gibes about the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.

NATIONAL Bush budget at $2.77 trillion The $2.77 trillion budget President Bush sent Congress calls for big increases for defense and homeland security, the extension of more than $1 trillion in tax cuts and belt-tightening in social programs and entitlements. pg 1a Mourning Coretta Scott King Thousands of mourners filed past the casket of Coretta Scott King at the church where her husband shared his dream for racial equality. pg 3a WORLD Demonstrations spread Demonstrations against cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad by European newspapers spread across Asia and the Middle East.

WASHINGTON -- I interviewed Coretta Scott King once. It cost $5,000. In 1985, I approached the King Center in Atlanta seeking both that interview and permission to use old audio of Mrs. King's husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for a radio documentary. I was told it would cost five grand for the audio rights, and it was made clear that unless that money was paid, there would be no interview. The ethical constraints of a radio production house are different from those of a news organization; we made the deal.

When assigned by The Sun to cover the viewing and funeral last week of Coretta Scott King, the first lady of the civil rights movement, I was stunned. I applied for credentials, but security was tight and credentials were not to be had. I was frozen out of the viewing the day before the funeral, and I knew the funeral itself would be even less inviting. Showing up in the pre-sunrise hours didn't help. Ten thousand people would be allowed to enter the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, but I couldn't schmooze my way in, even to step foot in the lobby.

My most vivid memory of Coretta Scott King -- who died at the age of 78 Monday night -- was the look of hurt on her face when I saw her on television that day in 1984. It was a presidential election year, which brings out the silliness, the vindictiveness, the churlishness and the downright human cussedness of Americans across racial and political lines. And it was the year that Jesse Jackson made his first run for president. I couldn't remember where it was. But thank God for Lexis Nexis, which allows reporters to search for old news stories.