Christine King Farris

Willie Christine King Farris (September 11, 1927 – June 29, 2023) was an American teacher and civil rights activist, the eldest sibling of Martin Luther King Jr. She taught at Spelman College and was the author of several books and was a public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education, and teaching.

Christine King Farris
King in 2011
Born
Willie Christine King

(1927-09-11)September 11, 1927
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedJune 29, 2023(2023-06-29) (aged 95)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Education
Known forCivil rights, teaching, public service
Spouse
Newton Farris Sr.
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2017)​
Children2
Parents
Family

Education and career

Like her mother and grandmother before her, King Farris attended Spelman College in Atlanta, where she earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1948. She wanted to continue her studies at the University of Georgia but it did not admit Black students at the time.[1] King Farris then attended Columbia University in New York and received a master's degree in social foundations of education in 1950. She earned a second master's degree in special education in 1958.[1]

King Farris got her first professional job as a teacher at W.H. Crogman Elementary School in Atlanta in 1950.[2] The school primarily served students from black low-income households.[3] In 1958, she returned to her Alma Mater as director of the Freshman Reading Program at Spelman College. In time, she became professor of education and director of the Learning Resources Center there. When she retired in 2014, she had served Spelman for 56 years.[1][4]

King Farris was, for many years, vice chair and treasurer of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and was active for several years in the International Reading Association, and various church and civic organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[4] Farris also published a children's book, My Brother Martin,[5] as well as her autobiography, Through It All: Reflections on My Life, My Family, and My Faith, in 2009.[6]

Family

Born in Atlanta on September 11, 1927,[7] King Farris was the first child and only daughter of Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King, and was the elder sister of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and A. D. King. The three siblings spent their early years in the home of their grandfather, Adam Daniel Williams, who died on March 21, 1931. She married Isaac Newton Farris Sr. on August 19, 1960. They had two children: Isaac Newton Farris Jr., and Angela Christine Farris Watkins.[8]

Family tragedies

King Farris endured the 1968 assassination of her brother Martin, the 1969 accidental drowning of her brother A. D., and the 1974 assassination of her mother.[9][10][11] King Farris did not return to Memphis, Tennessee, since traveling there after her brother's assassination to retrieve his body. In recent years, she attended the funerals of sister-in-law Coretta Scott King (died January 30, 2006) and niece Yolanda King (died May 15, 2007). In an interview with CNN, King Farris said she would not attend an April 2008 event marking the 40th anniversary of her brother's assassination, because the painful memories of her last visit to Memphis still haunted her.[10] Her husband, Isaac Newton Farris Sr., died on December 30, 2017, at the age of 83.[7]

Death

King Farris's death was announced by her family attorney, Antavius Weems. Farris died in Atlanta on June 29, 2023, at the age of 95.[7][12]

References
  1. "Founders Day Honoree Christine King Farris Embodies the Dream". www.spelman.edu. June 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  2. "Christine King Farris's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  3. Plankenhorn, Andy; Haven, Wilbur (1974). A No-Fail Attitude in an Inner-City School: W. H. Crogman Elementary School, 1972–73 (PDF).
  4. Stanford University; Stanford; California 94305 (May 2, 2017). "Farris, (Willie) Christine King". The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  5. King Farris, Christine (July 2009). My Brother Martin. Marco Book Company. ISBN 978-0-7848-2743-7.
  6. King Farris, Christine (January 13, 2009). Through It All: Reflections on My Life, My Family, and My Faith. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-5511-0.
  7. Dukes, Deidra (June 29, 2023). "Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister and civil rights activist, dies at 95". FOX 5 Atlanta.
  8. "Isaac Newton Farris Sr. dies at 83". FOX 5 Atlanta. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  9. Stanford University; Stanford; California 94305 (April 24, 2017). "Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr". The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  10. Blake, John (2008). "Sister remembers 'horrible moment' King was killed". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  11. Burns, Rebecca (June 28, 2012). "The murder of Alberta King". Atlanta. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  12. Sayers, Devon M.; Gamble, Justin (June 29, 2023). "Christine King Farris, sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, dies at 95". CNN. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
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