Famous Yolanda King Quotes
1980s, A Dream Deferred (1989)
Context: He knew in 1968 that while this was a beautiful symbol of hope and possibility, it indeed was only the beginning. For after they joined hands what then were they going to do? Yes, he was dreaming again of marching on Washington, but this time the intent was to stay there not just for a day, not just for speeches and singing but to engage in a campaign of massive civil disobedience to try and stop, nonviolently, the functioning of the national government until the cause of the poor became this nation’s first priority—until all people were guaranteed a decent job, at a decent income, until we stopped the killing of Asians abroad in the Vietnam war and turned to attend to the very desperate needs of our people within our shores. That was the last dream. And if you understand that dream, if you understand that for the last six months of his life Martin Luther King Jr. was not only talking about but actively organizing native Americans, Hispanics, poor whites, blacks, people from all across this nation who had for so long been denied; if you realize how threatening that was, perhaps you will understand why the bullet came, perhaps where it came from.
“Don't tell me! Don't tell me!”
Reaction to news of father being shot quoted in Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X: A Journey of Strength from Wife to Widow to Heroine (2003) by Russell J. Rickford, p. 349
1960s
Excerpts from speech given at UCSC's 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation. (January 20, 2004) http://currents.ucsc.edu/03-04/01-26/king.html
2000s
“I am a 100 percent, dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying believer in the dream.”
Statement made at Ebenezer Baptist Church (January 2007) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600075.html.
2000s
Yolanda King Quotes about people
Speaking at UC Irvine (09 January 1985) http://articles.latimes.com/1985-01-09/local/me-12043_1_yolanda-king
1980s
As quoted in interview in Jet magazine April 6, 1972 issue.
1970s
1970s
1980s
Yolanda King Quotes about dreams
Remarks at interfaith breakfast with Mayor Harold Washington (16 January 1986) http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/16/us/reagan-tells-pupils-of-struggle-won-by-dr-king.html
1980s
“The dream, that magnificent dream, pursued so fiercely by my father, is still only a dream.”
1980s, A Dream Deferred (1989)
Context: During the era of segregation a term was used to describe the racist separate system that was primarily intact in the South, although of course there were vestiges of it all across the rest of the country—it was called Jim Crow. Well, in 1989 I am pleased to say Jim Crow is dead, but as has been proven by incidents that happened in Forsyth County in Georgia, Howard Beach in New York, the community of Overton in Miami, just by cross burnings on college campuses, and by racial epithets being written on the walls of many of our college facilities. These incidents and so many more that are terrifying really, when we stop and think that they are still occurring in this country, point to the fact that while Jim Crow is dead his slightly more sophisticated first born son, J. Crow, Esquire, is alive and kicking. We as black people, we as women, we as humanity have not reached the promised land. We are still wandering around bumping into each other in the wilderness. The dream, that magnificent dream, pursued so fiercely by my father, is still only a dream. Racism, sexism, injustices, inequities of all shapes and sizes remain and we have to find a semblance of real peace, not the kind of peace where everything is wonderful on the surface but things are boiling underneath. I am talking about peace with justice. My father’s utterance rings persistently—either we will learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will perish together as fools.
Yolanda King Quotes
1980s, A Dream Deferred (1989)
Context: We as Americans memorialize and honor symbols of heroic deeds done on the battlefields of war and violence. So should we honor those cosmic travelers who have given their lives for the struggle for peace and justice. We have thousands of monuments to men at war, at long last we have the opportunity to celebrate the life of a man of peace who was one of our own. This accomplishment is a moment of triumph—but not for Martin Luther King Jr., he wouldn’t have cared one way or other, his was a very self-effacing spirit.
1980s, A Dream Deferred (1989)
Context: It is a real thrill to be back home. When I was here I was not as endeared to this institution as I am now. You learn in retrospect and appreciate as you move on. I was indeed shaped by my experience at Smith—it was the first time I had to struggle. It was the very first time I learned how to determine and focus very specifically on the things that I felt were important, to strategize and to learn how to go about getting them and making them happen. While it was painful then, I am truly thankful for that experience now.
In regards to her seeing a play's portrayal of her father as quoted in Living Black History: How Reimagining the American Past Can Remake American's Racial Future (2006) by Manning Marable, p. 133.
1980s
“Our mother is coming home and we are so grateful and so thankful that this is happening.”
On her mother being released from the hospital (23 September 2005) http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20050923&id=RgtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=th8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6922,1920770
2000s
Statements made as she condemned military action in the Persian Gulf http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910118&slug=1261445
1990s
“To this day, my heart skips a beat every time I hear one of those special bulletins.”
After recollecting her father's death to People magazine (1999) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600075.html
1990s
1980s, A Dream Deferred (1989)
Context: The Civil Rights Movement was not a mirage; it was not a documentary; it was not even a television special; it was live and in living color. It should not surprise us that it was a woman who sparked the movement. If Rosa Parks had not chosen to stand up that day in December 1955 by remaining seated on that bus in Montgomery, we would not be here today celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. But that was the incident that propelled him into leadership and ultimately triggered the ending of segregation in the South. The doors of educational and employment opportunities were opened and blacks, Hispanics, and women of all races streamed in on an unprecedented basis.
“Well, I wish they had built a Funtown for colored.”
Reluctantly accepting amusement park Funtown for being inaccessible to African-Americans quoted in Coretta: The Story of Coretta Scott King (2006) by Octavia B. Vivian, p. 56
1960s
Regarding her choice to not go to Arizona for a play at the time of her father's holiday being rejected by voters. http://books.google.com/books?id=d7sDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18&dq=yolanda+king+attallah+shabazz&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Feu5Uv_lAdjgoAS314GYCQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=yolanda%20king%20attallah%20shabazz&f=false
1990s
Statement during speech kicking off Black History Month (02 February 1986) http://articles.latimes.com/1986-02-02/local/me-3413_1_black-history-parade
1980s
