Keeper of civil rights flame dies aged 78

CORETTA SCOTT KING, who turned a life shattered by the assassination of her husband Martin Luther King into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died at the age of 78.

“We appreciate the prayers and condolences from people across the country,” the King family said in a statement. The family said she died during the night. Ms King suffered a serious stroke and heart attack last August.

“It’s a bleak morning for me and for many people and yet it’s a great morning because we have a chance to look at her and see what she did and who she was,” poet Maya Angelou said on ABC’s Good Morning America.