February is Black History Month, and Coretta Scott King, the widow to civil rights legend… February is Black History Month, and Coretta Scott King, the widow to civil rights legend Martin Luther King Jr., passed away just two days ago. It’s only fitting that we highlight the accomplishments of this phenomenal woman and discuss the state of leadership in the United States now that she is gone.

Perhaps Coretta Scott King’s success can be attributed to the strong foundation laid by her parents. On April 27, 1927, Mrs. King was born into a very ambitious family. Her father, Obediah Scott, was one of the first black men to start his own truck-farming business in segregated Alabama. Her mother, Bernice, was influential in seeking a means for transportation for neighborhood children to attend school 15 miles away.

Mrs. King graduated from high school in 1945 and went on to study music and teaching at Antioch College in Ohio. Shortly after, she was determined to launch a music career and even debuted in concert in 1948 in Springfield, Ohio. It wasn’t until she pursued further study at the New England Conservatory of Music that she met the man who would change her life.

In 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King were married and fully invested in the fight for equality in America. Mrs. King is mostly remembered for standing beside Martin Luther King Jr. while he led the famous bus boycott and delivered speeches.

But make no mistake; she was a leader in her own right. Yes, it is true that she spent a significant amount of time raising their children, but she was active in the movement before and after her husband’s death. She often gave speeches when he was unavailable. And four days after his death she led a march for sanitation workers in his absence.

She went on to establish the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. And 650,000 visitors are reminded of his legacy every year. Perhaps one of her greatest accomplishments was the adoption of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday on the third Monday of every January.

Beyond the black community, she has been genuinely altruistic. She has fought avidly against the war in Iraq and the apartheid in South Africa. Additionally, she has been an advocate for gay rights and has never wavered in supporting a group that was discriminated against.

We would be hard pressed to find someone who had something negative to say about Coretta Scott King. But there is much to criticize about some of the contemporary leaders of the black community. While the efforts of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do not go unrecognized, they are not as respected by America as a whole as the Kings were.

While Malcolm X and Rosa Parks are recognized on days throughout the year, Martin Luther King Jr. is the only black man with a national holiday. Yet, the power and significance associated with Corretta Scott King takes time and commitment to develop. But someone needs to follow in her footsteps to make change.

Now that she is gone, there has been a diffusion of responsibility. We all must answer to this call of leadership. Because of great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, we are closer to equality than before, but discrimination and racism are still daily occurrences in this country.

However, it seems that many have lost their fervor for obtaining the rights that America does not provide. The black community is still not equal to the white community. Homosexuals do not have the same rights as heterosexuals. Women and men are not paid the same wages for the same work.

Martin Luther King’s dream has been deferred for much too long. We should all know that Coretta Scott King has not simply passed away – she has passed along a torch of equality for all people, regardless of race, religion and tolerance for people from all walks of life.

Are you willing to carry it?