For Immediate Release

	January 31, 2006 NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION MOURNS THE DEATH OF CIVIL RIGHTS MOTHER CORETTA SCOTT KING NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION MOURNS THE DEATH OF CIVIL RIGHTS MOTHER CORETTA SCOTT KING Detroit, Michigan - The National Bar Association (NBA) mourns the loss of Coretta Scott King, and extends condolences to her family and friends. " Mrs. King was an instrumental and influential part of the modern civil rights movement. Her commitment to civil rights and human rights spanned more than three quarters of her life as she sacrificed greatly to advance the cause of justice and equal opportunity for all. Her exemplary commitment and leadership is respected and lauded throughout the world," says NBA President Reginald M. Turner, Jr. The NBA is the oldest and largest organization of attorneys and judges of color in the world. The NBA was founded in 1925, and today represents over 20,000 lawyers, judges, legal scholars and law students internationally. FRED D. GRAY, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY RESPONDS TO THE DEATH OF MRS. CORETTA SCOTT KING Tuskegee, Alabama - January 31, 2006 - Fred Gray, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s First Civil Rights Attorney issued the following statement in response to the Mrs. King's death Gray stated "The nation has lost another great civil rights icon in the passing of Mrs. Coretta Scott King. During the time that her husband, Dr. King, was spotlighted as the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Mrs. King played a major role in caring for their small children and in supporting Dr. King in all of his endeavors." "After Dr. King's death, Mrs. King was determined to perpetuate the legacy of her husband, by serving as the founder and president of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change. She continued to carry on his work of non-violence and social change under some very strenuous and adverse conditions." "In 1973 when I was a member of the Alabama Legislature she returned to Montgomery and attended a press conference which I held at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and we jointly announced that I was filing in the Alabama Legislature a bill to make the third Monday in January a holiday in the State of Alabama. It remained for other legislators to introduce similar bills which resulted in a holiday for Dr. King. She continued to work for the cause of civil and human rights until her death." "Not only was she a great mother, wife and activist in her own right, but she was an accomplished musician who placed her own career on hold while she attended to the needs of her family. A native Alabamian and a dynamic leader in her own right, her strength and abilities were always evident." "The nation will sorely miss Mrs. Coretta Scott King. I hope that her death will serve as a motivating factor for the nation and the world to support the continued work of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Her dignity and courage should inspire the world to continue the struggle for equal justice under the law." Finally, "As a tribute to her life let us all support the continued work of The King Center which she founded." Fred Gray, one of America's most noted Civil Rights attorneys, is senior partner at the Tuskegee, AL- based law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray and Nathanson, and has practiced law for over fifty years. His clients have included Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Gray is also President of the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center, which serves as the permanent memorial to the survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and as a history museum and visitor center for Tuskegee and Macon County, AL.