- Yolanda King
Infobox Person
name = Yolanda King
caption = Yolanda King speaking at the 2006 Out & Equal Workplace Summit.
birth_date =November 17 ,1955
birth_place =Montgomery, Alabama
death_date = death date and age|2007|5|15|1955|11|17
death_place =Santa Monica, California Yolanda Denise King (
November 17 ,1955 ndashMay 15 ,2007 ) was the first-born child ofCoretta Scott King andcivil rights leader Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr . Her younger siblings areMartin Luther King, III ,Dexter Scott King , and Rev.Bernice Albertine King .Biography
Born in
Montgomery, Alabama to Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, King was a human rights activist and actress. An alumna ofSmith College , she was a member of theBoard 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 ofHabitat for Humanity , was the first national Ambassador for the American Stroke Association's "Power to End Stroke" Campaign, a member of theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference , a sponsor of theWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom ,Human Rights Campaign , and held a lifetime membership in theNAACP . King received aBachelor of Arts degree with honors fromSmith College inNorthampton ,Massachusetts , a Master's degree in theater fromNew York University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters fromMarywood University . In 1978 she starred asRosa 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
civil rights [Task Force mourns death of Yolanda King 'An unwavering voice for equality and justice', http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prMF_051707] [Out & Equal Mourns the Passing of Civil Rights Leader, http://www.outandequal.org/news/headlines/YolandaKing.asp] , like her mother, Coretta.Death
On
May 15 ,2007 , King died aged 51 in Santa Monica,California . She collapsed at the home of Philip Madison Jones, her brother Dexter King's best friend, and could not be revived. Her family has speculated that her death was caused by aheart condition . A public memorial for Yolanda King was held onMay 24 ,2007 at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta. King was cremated. [Yolanda King Dead At Age 51, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/16/national/main2811759.shtml]On
May 25 ,2008 , her brother Martin Luther III and his wife, Arndrea, gave birth to a baby girl and named her Yolanda, after his late sister.Filmography
* "King" (1978) (mini)
* "Hopscotch" (1980)
* "Death of a Prophet " (1981)
* "No Big Deal " (1983) (TV)
* "Fluke" (1995)
* "America's Dream " (1996) (TV)
* "Ghosts of Mississippi " (1996)
* "" (1997)
* "Our Friend, Martin " (1999) (V)
* "Selma, Lord, Selma " (1999) (TV)
* "Funny Valentines " (1999) (TV)
* "The Secret Path " (1999)
* "Chasing Secrets " (1999)
* "Odessa " (2000)
* "JAG "
* "Still My Little Soldier " (2001)
* "Liberty's Kids " (2002)
* "Odessa " (2005) (pre-production)
* "The Still Life (2007)References
External links
*
* [http://www.yolanda-king.com/ Higher Ground Productions]
* [http://www.ericdavid.info/default.asp?id=70&newsaction=newsdetail&articleid=51 Bridge Over Troubled Water] a feature film synopsis
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuNENEIDh78 Yolanda King Speech at HRC Dinner]
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