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Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist and wife of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, has died aged 78.

Coretta Scott King was a driving force in educating the public about the accomplishments of the civil rights movement and the continued struggle to ensure that all Americans receive equal rights. After the assassination of her husband on 4 April 1968, Scott King devoted much of her life to spreading his philosophy of non-violence. Just a few days after his death, she led a march on behalf of workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Later that same month, she substituted for her husband at an anti-Vietnam War rally in New York. In May 1968, she helped to launch the Poor People's Campaign and thereafter participated in numerous anti-poverty efforts. Scott King also taught the lessons of the civil rights movement personally. She frequently spoke at public schools and colleges to spread Dr. King’s message of hope and integration to generations of students. Her lifelong actions echoed her husband’s famous words that their “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Coretta Scott King will continue to serve as a role model for all of us who carry on the march toward equality for all.