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Coretta King honors show change

The Rev. Bernice King, left, Dexter King, Martin Luther King III, Yolanda King, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Georgia first lady Mary Perdue and Gov. Sonny Perdue look on Saturday as the casket of Coretta Scott King is carried up the steps of the Capitol to lie in honor in the rotunda in Atlanta. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Dahleen Glanton Chicago Tribune
The Rev. Bernice King, left, Dexter King, Martin Luther King III, Yolanda King, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Georgia first lady Mary Perdue and Gov. Sonny Perdue look on Saturday as the casket of Coretta Scott King is carried up the steps of the Capitol to lie in honor in the rotunda in Atlanta. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

ATLANTA – A weekend of tributes to Coretta Scott King began Saturday as she became the first African-American and the only woman to lie in state at the Georgia Capitol rotunda.

The honor was in stark contrast to the state’s reaction when her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated in 1968. Then-Gov. Lester Maddox refused to allow a visitation at the Capitol or to give state workers the day off for King’s funeral.

People lined up for four blocks to view Coretta King’s open casket, standing for up to an hour in intermittent rain.

Ida Mae McGahey of Atlanta said she was overwhelmed by the thousands of people who came to pay their respects. Like many, she stood in line in 1968 to view Martin Luther King Jr.’s body as it lay in state at Ebenezer Baptist Church. She was compelled to come to the rotunda, she said, because history was being made.

“This shows that so much has happened since Dr. King died,” said McGahey, a 66-year-old African American, flanked by her two grandchildren. “She did so much for us. She was a great lady.”

Even before the official events began for Coretta King, schoolchildren, supporters and other well-wishers had poured onto the grounds of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. King’s tomb, on the grounds of the Martin Luther King Center for Non-violent Social Change, has been surrounded since his wife’s death Tuesday by flowers, teddy bears and balloons brought by visitors from across the country. Many of them lingered in silent prayer or lit candles to show respect to the couple who often walked arm in arm to protest racial and social injustices.

On Monday, Coretta King, who died of cancer at age 78, will lie in state at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband preached. Her funeral will be Tuesday at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Lithonia, where the Kings’ youngest daughter, Bernice, is a minister. The White House said President Bush is expected to make remarks during the service.