Friends and family unveil monument to celebrate, honor Coretta Scott King

Eleven year old soloist Victory Brinker had the right music for the moment on Thursday.

“You raise me up so I could stand on mountains,” Victoria sang.

Dozens gathered at The King Center in Northeast Atlanta to remember a truly remarkable lady who kept the Civil Rights Movement alive.

Coretta Scott King.  “This day not only honors Mrs. King’s contributions to history.  It is also her 96th birthday,” Channel 2′s Karyn Greer announced to the crowd.

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The event featured a birthday gift that all will enjoy.

“Dr. Bernice King wanted the monument to be on this sacred ground,” monument artist Saya Woolfalk said.

It stands just steps from where Mrs. King and her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are laid to rest.

“We are filled with memories and moments, and we are grateful,” poet Pearl Cleage said.

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“Today’s dedication of this monument is but a beginning.  There is much more to come.  When her legacy is fully revealed, we will know that because of her, because of mom, because of Coretta Scott King, the dream lives and the legacy continues,” daughter and King Center CEO Dr. Bernice King said.

It is one of three monuments commissioned to honor some of the nation’s great women, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and author Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

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