Tuesday, May 22, 2007

**Note**I changed this post so that I would not be contributing to blog gossip or passing around inaccurate information.

Part 1
It was so sad to see this dynamic speaker die so young. She was 51. That was not enough time to get her message out about peace. She was a beautiful person and I had the opportunity to listen to her keynote while searching youtube about her. Her father, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his life in the fight for civil rights. I believe in all that I have read she tried to do the same. I'm praying for her family as I am sure that they are going through so much pain.




Yolanda King, died May 15, 2007


Part 2
My mother said that back in the South, many years ago my when a person died their relatives would dress the dead person and post them in their bed as if they were sleeping. People would come to the house and walk through to view the body. The person would lie in the bed until everyone had a chance to view them and then they would be buried after a day or so.

This conversation came up because an elderly church member, 87, died and they had the wake at her house. She was dressed and lying in the same bed that she had slept in for many years. I would not attend the wake because I felt that was weird, spooky and so unreal. I had never heard of this practice until mother asked if I would go to this elderly person’s wake. I refused to attend. I refused because I only knew of the wakes that were held at funeral homes.

As I get older I am finding out a lot of information about the past. Back in the 50's and 40's and probably earlier, people did things so differently. For me going to see a dead person in the bed would have been too shocking. I'm sure for the folks who were accustomed to saying good bye to people in their homes, were as much shocked about going to a funeral home as I would be going to view a body in a home.
Times are changing and have changed. Even since I was born, a 60's baby, life was as different for me as it is for my own daughter who was born in 88. I try to understand everybody because our habits, life, activities that we partake in are as different from one generation to the next. Still though, I can not view a person laying in his bed sleep forever.

17 comments:

Believer said...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/16/obit.king.ap/index.html

CNN Reports her life and accomplishments.

Where have I been? See what happens when you're so focused on organization and take a break from the Internet.

Come read my deep post...Lessons Learned - Arizona. I'm a posting furiously and lovin' it!

Thanks for stopping by my mommy blog.

Believer said...

That URL is incomplete. It should read index.html at the end.

Luke Cage said...

Thanks for sharing miss Rose. Although, you wouldn't have been alone in the way that you felt. That is creepy to see a person lying in wait. While I definitely support it being done this way, it does leave a very creepy feeling that I cannot describe. RIP to miss Yolanda King.

Anonymous said...

That is not Yolanda.

TJ said...

hmmm... interesting...

BostonPobble said...

What a sad thing for the country and the world to have lost her so young. *sigh*

Shai said...

I cannot tell looking at the pics if it is her.

I can say the wake at home stuff would freak me out too. I know back in the day they did things dif for many reasons. I glad some traditions have changed.

dchoward said...

pictures they look nothing like Yolanda King (MLK's daughter). The woman in the picture's name may be Yolanda King but not who everyone thinks it is. I also ready that her funeral services are schedule for May 24th and there is no public viewing...so why would anyone in her family take these pictures and post them on the internet??

Linka72 said...

dchoward, you are SO right!!!

I used to work with Ms. King and there's NO way that those pic are of her..sad

Unknown said...

That is not Yolanda. Whoever sent you these photos should be ashamed of themselves.

sickened

Anonymous said...

that is not Ms King she came to my church and spoke the person in thepicture does noteven lok like her. If I"m wrong so be it


church lady

Michelle said...

I can't get with seeing dead people laying in their bed -- nor do I understand the taking pictures of the dead thing. Those are two customs I can't get with. Hope you're well, Rose!

Anonymous said...

I just received the pictures and began searching online to validate the authenticity and could find nothing. Thank you because if not for this blog I would have had some doubt. Like DCHoward et al stated, i dont even look like her. SHAMLESS INDEED!

Anonymous said...

I agree, this is definitely NOT the daughter of ML King! I knew her and the person in these pictures doesn't come close to looking like her. Doubt that her hair would be straight. There's no public viewing of her and she will be cremated.

kathi said...

Well, I've heard many stories about wakes such as this (in their beds) and even laying them out on a table in the living area. Go figure...

Anonymous said...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

There was no doubt in my mind that those pics were NOT Martin and Coretta's daughter Yolanda, maybe somebody else named Yolanda King.

For one, I can't find a recent picture anywhere of Yolanda with her hair that was not in a "nautral" style; #2. Yolanda was much lighter than the female in the pictures; #3. Yolanda was definitely a "plus-sized" woman as is all her family; #4. The shoes are too small.

Considering the class and style of the King family, I can't even entertain the thought that this is the same "Yolanda King" that was the daughter of Martin and Coretta King.

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