Willie Christine King Farris was an American teacher and civil rights activist, the eldest sibling of Martin Luther King Jr. She taught at Spelman College and is the author of several books, and was a public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education, and teaching.
Christine King Farris children: Meet Angela Christine Farris Watkins & Isaac Newton
She celebrated her 90th birthday in September and was married to Isaac Farris Sr., for 57 years, until his passing in December. She is the mother of Isaac Newton Farris Jr. and Angela Christine Farris Watkins, Ph.D., C’86, chair of the psychology department and associate professor; the grandmother of Farris Christine Watkins, C’2019; and aunt of Bernice A. King, C’85, and Jennifer Beal Fields, C’2007.Farris Jr.
When Farris’ brother, Martin Luther King Jr. was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association and designated the spokesman for the Montgomery Boycott, she volunteered her time in support of her brother’s leadership. She often worked behind the scenes at protest headquarters and took an active part in nonviolent demonstrations, including the historic Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965 and the March Against Fear in Mississippi in 1966.