Yolanda King

About Yolanda King

Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 – May 15, 2007) was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her younger siblings are Martin Luther King, III, Dexter Scott King, and Rev. Bernice Albertine King.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama to Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, King was a human rights activist and actress. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (the official national memorial to her father) and was founding Director of the King Center's Cultural Affairs Program. She served on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, was the first national Ambassador for the American Stroke Association's "Power to End Stroke" Campaign, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Human Rights Campaign, and held a lifetime membership in the NAACP. King received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a Master's degree in theater from New York University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marywood University. In 1978 she starred as Rosa Parks in the TV miniseries King (which was based on her father's life and released on DVD in 2005). King was a spokeswoman for the national stroke awareness association.

King was an ardent activist for gay rights,[citation needed] like her mother Coretta.