Coretta Deserves Better
Days before Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 95th birthday and his wife Coretta is in the news more than ever. Not for the book award named after her in recognition of talented Black authors and illustrators, not for the 60 honorary doctorate degrees she received, and not even for being the Founding President and Chief Operating Officer of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. No, this week, Coretta Scott King is trending because an actor convicted of assault has gone on record of needing a “Coretta” to support him.
I won’t give that particular actor or his convictions the time of day. People that batter women aren’t worth mention at the YWCA Princeton and he is most definitely not the main character of this post. Which is exactly my issue of his infatuation with the idea of a “Coretta” kind of woman by his side. You see, Coretta Scott King was accomplished before she married Martin and continues to be held in high regards after his death. In her letter to Huffington Post, Coretta and Martin’s daughter Bernice lays it out clearly, “Before she was a King, my mother was a peace advocate, a courageous leader and an accomplished artist.” Coretta was someone before she married Dr. King and continued to be a trailblazer long after her death.
It is because of Coretta’s advocacy work that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday, not just to commemorate the work her husband did. In her own words, “The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others.” This year, I will be celebrating this holiday by supporting the Paul Robeson House’s Teach In and Curriculum Exchange focusing on the wives and women of the civil rights movement. Because much like Coretta; Myrlie Evers-Williams, Betty Shabazz, and Mildred Loving deserve their flowers too. These women are more than the sacrifices they made to allow their husbands the time to shine.
So no, I reject the notion that men need Corettas to support and stand by them. Women need Barack Obamas who will understand that they are established in their career first and will accept their mentorship, Alexis Ohanians who will sing his wife’s praises as the best in her sport whenever they get the chance (don’t EVEN get me started on Simone Biles’ husband), and more Jay Zs cheering on their wives from the audience as they sell out 50,000+ seat arenas.
It’s not enough for women to support women, we need men to start doing the same. Not just when it benefits him, but because women are talented! Much more than men who get dropped by his management company, Disney, Marvel, the Texas Rangers, and the US Army. Kang the Conqueror may be scary, but men that expect their woman to stand by their side before, during, and after being convicted of aggravated assault and battery are much, MUCH scarier.
Recommended reading: