ATLANTA (AP) — Hundreds mourned the loss of Coretta Scott King at the Sunday services of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her late husband preached in the 1960s and the civil rights matriarch remained a member until her death.
"Praise God for Coretta Scott King; let the heavens rejoice for the witness of our sister," the Rev. Raphael Warnock said after a rousing rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" stirred the congregation.
Later in the church's Heritage Sanctuary, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/WOMEN also honored the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for her quiet and courageous strength as a leader, wife and mother.
Atlanta's Mayor Shirley Franklin thanked King and others who worked "so that someone who was African-American and female could lead this great city."
In Detroit, the Rev. Al Sharpton remembered King at the Historic Little Rock Baptist Church's Sunday service.
"Mrs. King is not history because she is dignified," Sharpton said. "Yes, she was dignified. Yes, she had grace. Yes, she was regal, but that doesn't make her history. She is history because her husband and her stood up for what was right."
Today, King's body will lie in honor in Ebenezer's Heritage Sanctuary in the historically black Atlanta neighborhood where her late husband was born.
The funeral is Tuesday.