Photo by Ali Meizels ’23
Kijua Sanders-McMurtry based her talk off a course she taught at Agnes Scott College.
BY KATIE GOSS ’23
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Kijua Sanders-McMurtry gave a talk on Jan. 24 to discuss Coretta Scott King’s legacy as an activist. The talk was part of a new initiative by the office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: the Mount Holyoke College Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Week of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.
“I think it’s super important and I’m really excited there’s a whole week and there’s not just one day,” Angelis Liriano ’22 said. “I also think this series of events is really important to remind ourselves why we are here and able to be doing this, and the sacrifices that needed to be made to be able to have these opportunities.”
Often referred to only as the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this event shed light on King’s activism throughout her life. In addition to her involvement with the Civil Rights Movement, King also advocated for other movements including women’s rights, immigrants’ rights and equality within the LGBTQ+ community.
The talk began with a video of King speaking at the 1996 Atlanta gay pride festival. “It is vitally important for African-Americans, lesbian and gay people, the women’s rights movement and all groups who experience discrimination to work together,” King said.
King’s upbringing was briefly talked about at the beginning of the presentation to give an understanding of the evolution of her role as an activist.
As King’s parents had only elementary and middle school educations, they wanted schooling to be a priority in their daughters’ upbringing. King’s mother recognized that, through education, her daughters could support themselves. Graduating top of her class in high school, she went on to attend Antioch College and became the more outspoken activist for civil rights.
Sanders-McMurtry talked about how King remained a huge activist after marrying Martin Luther King Jr. She was often perceived as just his wife, accompanying him on his marches, when in reality she had been involved in activism before she met her husband. Even after having children, King had someone watch them so that she could go march and support the movement.
“I came to the realization that we had been thrust into the forefront of a movement to liberate oppressed people and this movement had worldwide implications,” King said, soon after marrying her husband. “I felt blessed to have been called to be part of such a noble and historic cause.”
“The Kings challenged poverty, homophobia, social class divisions, racial injustice and much more,” McMurtry said.
Even after her husband’s death, King used his platform to empower herself and her causes not as a widow, but as an activist. A clip from “60 Minutes” was shown, in which King and her children were interviewed on Christmas after Dr. King had died. They talked about the hardships of losing a husband and father as well as his legacy.
After her husband’s death, she started to become an activist for LGBTQ+, women’s and immigrant rights. King never stopped advocating for the civil rights movement. She also stood up for the United Farm Workers along with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, where she encouraged the oppressed to get together and speak up.
Towards the end of the presentation, Sanders-McMurtry handed out different passages about things King had done and said, and they took turns going around in order to read them out loud to the people in attendance. After hearing the quotes and different actions King had taken, the group opened up to a discussion about her efforts and legacy, where Sanders-McMurtry answered a few questions and wrapped up her talk.
Sanders-McMurtry taught a class for two years at Agnes Scott College called “The King Legacy and the Atlanta Civil Rights Movement,” which this presentation was based off of. In that class, students were able to coordinate oral histories with many civil rights activists and alumnae.
“I believe deeply that public reflections like this week, that address the intersectional activism of people like Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will help us heal and restore people to the movement who may have felt they did not have a place,” Sanders-McMurtry said. “I hope that this happens every year to remind us to actively work towards racial healing, racial justice and reconciliation.”