Yolanda King Passes On

At the age of 51 Yolanda King was very much in her prime.
She was the eldest of the King children and very much a
part of the civil rights movement both past and present.


Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech. She was 51. King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement. Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father's who has remained close to the family, said Yolanda King had just spoken at an event for the American Heart Association. She was helping the association raise awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke.

Young said she was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway and "they were not able to revive her."Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006.Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including "Ghosts of Mississippi." She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King.""Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement.

He added she was "thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama."The Rev. Al Sharpton called Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right."Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." On her company's Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change.The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff today.Yolanda Denise King -- nicknamed Yoki by the family -- was born Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., where her father was then preaching. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963.





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