73 Facts About Yolanda King

Yolanda Denise King was an African-American activist, actress and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr.

Yolanda King was born two weeks before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public transit bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

Yolanda King occasionally experienced threats to her life, designed to intimidate her parents, and was bullied at school.

When her father was assassinated on April 4,1968, the 12-year-old Yolanda King showed her composure during the public funeral and mourning events.

Yolanda King became a secondary caregiver to her younger siblings.

Yolanda King aroused controversy in high school for her role in a play.

Yolanda King was credited with having her father's sense of humor.

That decade saw Yolanda King's acting career take off as she appeared in ten separate projects, including Ghosts of Mississippi, Our Friend, Martin and Selma, Lord, Selma.

Yolanda King was involved in a sibling feud that pitted her and her brother Dexter against their brother Martin Luther King III and sister Bernice King for the sale of the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yolanda King served as a spokesperson for her mother during the illness that would eventually lead to her death.

Yolanda King outlived her mother by only 16 months, succumbing to complications related to a chronic heart condition on May 15,2007.

Yolanda King kept her father busy when walking on their home's floors.

Yolanda King recalled that her mother had been the main parent and dominant figure in their home, while her father was often away.

Yolanda King's mother referred to her as being a confidant during the time following her husband's assassination.

Yolanda King complimented her mother on her achievements and her mother spoke of her in a positive light, as well.

Yolanda King cried when she found out her father had been imprisoned.

Yolanda King's father admitted that he had never adjusted to bringing up children under "inexplicable conditions".

Yolanda King did not understand, and asked her mother Coretta why she was not able to go.

Yolanda King told her that there were many whites who were not racist and wanted her to go but there were many who were and did not want her to go.

Yolanda King predicted at that time that all of the "Negro leaders" would be killed and the non-leading African-Americans would agree to segregation.

Yolanda King's mother started to realize that Yolanda had become more aware of the possibility that her father could be killed as well.

In 1966, Yolanda King listened to a speech her father gave when he was addressing a rally.

Yolanda King began speaking publicly at the age of ten and even filled in for her parents on occasion.

Yolanda King ran out of the room, screamed "I don't want to hear it," and prayed that he would not die.

Yolanda King asked her mother at this time, if she should hate the man who killed her father.

Yolanda King's mother told her not to, since her father would not want that.

Yolanda King complimented her mother as a "brave and strong lady," leading to a hug between them.

Yolanda King was visited by Mrs Kennedy before her father's funeral.

In regards to the possibility that her father could have been saved, Yolanda King said she doubted that her father could have lived much longer given all the stress he had during his tenure as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

Yolanda King ranked in the top 10 percent of her class.

Yolanda King made lifelong friends while in the institution that would collectively be called the "Grady Girls".

At that time, Yolanda King still did not know what she wanted to do with her life, but acknowledged that many wanted her to be a preacher.

Yolanda King's inclinations were driven to be artistic, which did not suit the political aspects of her father's life.

When Yolanda King was 16, she received attention in Jet in 1972, where she talked about what her father's famous name was doing for her life.

Yolanda King recalled having met a friend that was scared of being acquainted with her, because of her father's identity and expressed her thoughts in the colleges she wished to attend.

Yolanda King voiced her dislike of the assumption that she would behave just like her mother and father, and the difficulty of being perceived as not being someone others could talk to.

Yolanda King took classes taught by Manning Marable and Johnnella Butler, and became satisfied with her choice of a college.

Yolanda King stated in 2000 to USA Today, that her acting "allowed me to find an expression and outlet for the pain and anger I felt about losing my father,".

Yolanda King served on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, was the first national Ambassador for the American Stroke Association's "Power to End Stroke" Campaign, a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Human Rights Campaign, and held a lifetime membership in the NAACP.

Yolanda King received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a master's degree in theater from New York University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marywood University.

In 1979, Yolanda King met Attallah Shabazz, the eldest daughter of Malcolm X, after arrangements had been made by Ebony Magazine to take a photograph of the two women together.

In February 1982, Yolanda King was a speaker during the centennial of Anne Spencer's birth.

Yolanda King celebrated her father's holiday on January 16,1986, and attended a breakfast in Chicago with Mayor Harold Washington.

Yolanda King found "great irony" in President Ronald Reagan having signed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr.

Yolanda King made it clear that while she had not been "endeared" to the institution, she was still "grateful" for her experience.

Yolanda King was the godmother of acclaimed actress RaeVen Larrymore Kelly.

On January 17,1991, Yolanda King spoke before a crowd of students at Edmonds Community College, around 200 in number.

Yolanda King debunked complacency in having any role in progression of her father's dream.

Yolanda King joined her mother in placing a wreath around her father's crypt.

Yolanda King stressed in 1992 that love would help people make their mark on the world.

Yolanda King originally wanted $8,000, but negotiated down to $6,500.

On February 1,1994, Yolanda King attempted to speak before a diverse class of students at North Central College.

Yolanda King attended and spoke at the Human Rights Campaign Detroit Gala Dinner of 2000.

Yolanda King mentioned the possibility that the event could have been a calling for Americans to put their loyalty towards "their race, tribe and nation", as her father once said.

In honor of her father, Yolanda King promoted a show in Los Angeles entitled "Achieving the Dream" in 2001.

Coretta Scott Yolanda King began to decline in health after suffering a stroke in August 2005.

Yolanda King was having a conversation with her mother in her home when she stopped talking.

Yolanda King was hospitalized on August 16,2005, and was set to come home as well.

Alongside the physician that took care of her mother, Dr Maggie Mermin and her sister, Yolanda told the press that her mother was making progress on a daily basis and was expected to make a full recovery.

Yolanda King became a spokesperson for the American Heart Association after her mother's stroke, promoting a campaign to raise awareness about strokes.

Yolanda King preached in January 2007 to an audience in Ebenezer Baptist Church urging them to be an oasis for peace and love, as well as to use her father's holiday as starting ground for their own interpretations of prejudice.

On May 15,2007, Yolanda King told her brother Dexter, that she was tired, though he thought nothing of it because of her "hectic" schedule.

Around an hour later, Yolanda King collapsed in the Santa Monica, California home of Philip Madison Jones, her brother Dexter Yolanda King's best friend, and could not be revived.

Yolanda King's death came a year after her mother died.

Yolanda King's family has speculated that her death was caused by a heart condition.

Yolanda King made it clear that month that she was not trying to fill her father's footsteps, noting jokingly that "They're too big" and that she would "fall and break [her] neck".

Yolanda King advocated for her father's holiday to be used as a day for helping others, and expressed dissatisfaction on the basis of people relaxing on his day.

Yolanda King disliked cliches used to define her father and expressed this to Attallah Shabazz, and recalled having seen a play where her father was a "wimp" and carried The Bible with him everywhere.

Yolanda King was an ardent activist for gay rights, as was her mother; Coretta Scott protested many times over gay rights.

Yolanda King was among 187 people arrested during a demonstration by lesbian and gay rights activists.

Yolanda King allowed me to give myself permission to be me.

Yolanda King was a reserved and quiet person who loved acting.

Yolanda King has mostly been portrayed in films that revolve around her parents.