handed the gift of the presidency never doubted it because the president is a product of himself in a way no king or pope urban prime minister could ever be. .. the great reading game is on going and endless and open to

everyone. on a plane. [applause] >> is there a nonfiction author or boat he would like to see featured on booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org or tweak us at twitter.com/booktv. >> bernice king. who is seeded scott big-league? >> coretta scott king was the wife of martin luther king jr.. my mother. so be it is my ananut. they grew up in alabama together and later became a drama percentage and she founded the drama society at state university in pennsylvania. so she is a lively woman and unfortunately passed last year

in june. completing the after completing this book. >> this book is "desert rose: the life and legacy of coretta scott king" and the author is your aunt. when did she write this book? >> it was a journey that began with my mother's request in 1966 to write her story. at that time both of my parents were constantly being frightened and my mother didn't know it. she was concerned that her story would be told and she would not be lost and when did people to know that she was not just the wife of martin luther king jr. but she played a vital role in the movement. after this before she met martin king and from that angle as well as one thing to tell stories of women in the movement because you don't hear a lot about the women in the civil-rights movement. 66 set out to write it.

68, april 4th she put the manuscript in the mail box and got the news my father had been assassinated. at that time she put it aside and came to atlanta to help my mother out with funeral arrangements and children for a couple of years and the establishment of the king center. my mom said maybe i want to write my own white story. the life of martin luther king jr. and published that in 1969 and it is no longer in print. in 2004 because mother encouraged -- and she knew about the manuscript and very much wanted to complete it, why don't you go ahead and complete the manuscript in 2004? she began to do some more work. from 66 to 2004 a lot of that as

a result a few months or a year later my mother became ill and so she didn't focus when my mother passed and 16 months later my sister passed so it was delayed somewhat. by 2008 close to 2009 started completing this particular book. i had a conversation with her one day. she was working on it and people need to know more about coretta. martin didn't make coretta. they need to know coretta king from a strong family roots, strong family deeply grounded in a, education and how it repaired us as women to be leaders. the fact that your mom was very much an activist involved in the peace movement and i am working on the book and said can i help you? that is how this journey began.

>> how active was she? when did she began her activism? she was born in marion, alabama? >> if you study history three of the leading persons in the movement, andrea and, routes abernathy and my father all had wives in garrett county, alabama. mom didn't know juanita abernathy. when the movement started they didn't know about mary in different men and all that stuff and profit it altogether. growing up in rural alabama with my father, and entrepreneur early on, unheard of in an african-american had his own trust in lumber and he did open a sawmill that burned down by a white general he hired but -- i

think the early importance of her father at the termination to stand up to injustice and to move forward with courage influenced her and she went on and produce a loss of socially active leaders in our nation. missionaries came and educated the children to become more socially minded to think about the world they live in and that began with fairly activism and piqued her interest in why am i here? what is my purpose? from that point on she was driven by any college in yellow springs ohio. and involved in the naacp and the peace movement. and seeking out the war in vietnam. >> host: public image of your mother is behind-the-scenes,

quiet. >> guest: quiet. >> host: what was she like as a person? >> guest: she was very mission driven, has a gentle spirit, and exuded the unconditional love of god like nobody i've ever knew. i didn't know about that. fascinating. i don't hold grudgess. for a woman who experienced all experienced, being in the house when it was bombed in 1966 after the bus protests, a time when all kinds of emotions can be aroused and hate and hostility and bitterness, and only love and understanding and goodwill and hope and faith and she loved in spite of and didn't let her

hinder her work. and you can imagine the children hearing about her father being assassinated. little kids taken away that way you could really become very hate filled but my mother taught us about loving and this cause and gave his life and so i lived with that example in the home constantly ended exuded throughout this book. reader story. >> host: where did you come up with the title "desert rose"? >> guest: my and came up with the title and they grow up in harsh difficult circumstances. segregated south. difficult for african americans. yet through my mother's faith and education and family

upbringing kind of like harsh circumstances. difficult circumstances to push forth out of those circumstances and blossom into this beautiful courageous devoted dedicated graceful determined committed woman. that is how she came up with this. >> host: what do you remember at 5 years old about april 4th, 1968. >> i don't remember april 4th at all. i was told by was asleep. at the time in atlanta. it was an easy time. he was killed at 7:10 atlanta time. they were putting me to bed. the next day when my mother went to get my father at the body and bring it back to atlanta as a new about what was going on.

she told me that my father was no longer able to speak to me. he had gone to live with god. you know kids. i didn't say anything immediately. we went to the airport and got on the plane and i heard this noise of the wind and i said i hear him back there breathing. they told me he was going to be in a casket but he won't be able to talk. i heard him breathing. no, no. later on i asked how he was going to eat. i remember him being at home at the dinner table and i remember him reaching for these long stem the onions with the ball at the end and picking up and chewing it like celery. i remembered that.

i wanted know how is he going to eat? god will take care of him. so that was -- i remember the funeral. it was hot. a lot of lights. a lot of cameras. it is so hot in here with all the lights and cameras and everything. when it was time to do the music they had decided to play my father's hamlet from february 4th, 1967, that he delivered at ebenezer baptist church and in a strange way he talked about it. were any of you are around? i don't want it -- and that is folding. talking about justice and all these other challenges. they played that excerpt.

i remember my mom said you can't speak any more. can't talk. supposedly looking for my dad, looking at the casket to see him come out but nothing. a child knows their father -- just kind of tried to put her arms around me and comfort me but that was here. >> host: did your older siblings get it more than you did? >> guest: definitely. my sister said he is my buddy. he found comfort coming home to us. they used to play -- didn't really like that. he enjoyed it. for her they talk the law. it was a great loss for her and martin iii -- it was the thing. he and my brother a few weeks before he was assassinated got a

chance to travel with him who ruled mississippi and daddy was looking to do a campaign and was doing a little reporting in the south and so they got past the glass time during the work that he did and so it was very traumatic for all of us in different ways. i remember he used to come and have kids again. i would run into his arms and pick me up and play the kiss me game. all happy daddy is home and he said -- called him sugar pie. where is -- nickname was -- where is martin? and i remember my spot being on the forehead. my mother remembers it being on the cheek. i did the game.

i remember the forehead. >> host: how did your mother's life change? >> guest: drastically. my mother was very much working side-by-side, in fact she wanted to be a concert singer be sure it -- before she met bad and was preparing for that when they met. she had to wrestle with her purpose but her real sense of mission to change the condition to live under. and the proposal to marry him and join the movement had a wonderful opportunity to use that career, that talent to raise money as a freedom fighter. between of freedom concerts', organizing even papers in the last year where we have the king papers, still found time to take

home for when he was assassinated. i didn't get to see my mother as much as i would have liked. >> host: was she got a lot? >> guest: she was gone but she was there. the things we have done as daughter and mother didn't take place. the outings -- that didn't take place because she was focused on institutionalizing his legacy. america needs to understand the very things that gave significance to the movement, influenced by jesus christ and mahatma gandhi. shea built the king center in atlanta and galvanized people to support it and begin teaching through nonviolent institution the internship program in the king center and focus shifted as

they raised the money and open for first day. you can imagine i am in her bed room she was at home talking to presidents and prime minister's. the mother was phenomenal. she was the kind of person who knew how to shift and a just, in the home to talk to every day automated person in the king center, she invited a lot of people to the house. she is going to fix her save favorite vegetable fruit and to talk about the movement she would light up and talking about

the movement and excited about it. for her that was fulfilling because that was the reason my life -- that is what it was all about. >> host: did your mother and family stay in the same house? >> guest: stayed in the same house. the house was not purchasing until 1956. and influenced -- you should have a wife and children. and president kennedy -- to do

my faith. and to bring that out, stay in the house since 2004. >> host: did you have grandparents growing up? >> guest: very much did. my grandparents in alabama, every summer for two weeks spend time with my grandfather, for some of the -- i helped her around the dinner table watching the dishes, watching her quote, said at the table and have long family discussions. spent a great deal of time with my grandparents. thanksgiving and christmas and i was close to them. they live in atlanta. they were very influential in my

life. >> host: after your dad's assassination or even before did you have security around your family at all times? >> guest: initially we did but for the most part know. there was one time they escaped from prison that we had to have security and remembered that, really embarrassing. they didn't come in the classroom. they sat outside in the car. it was uncomfortable. i remember saying all of this. the magnitude of who my father was an family was and everything. never had security. my mother had the atlanta police officers assigned to her after some years so she had -- >> host: had somebody with her at all times. could she go to a store or go anywhere without people stopping

her? >> they get on her about it. that is what i was saying. i never had an opportunity to go shopping with my mom. the couple times i can remember we got stopped at every turn, people would want an autograph or a picture. she didn't do it a lot. it became a burden. we did more dinners at a family at restaurants. some people when we didn't people would invariably come up and say can i get an autograph? it was very difficult to go out. she probably did more than when she went on vacations away at the island's that they would have. i tell you one story i remember. in her latter years i went to

the hallmark store with her a couple times. my mother as busy as she was literally spend two or three hours at a hallmark store making sure it was the exact card for the person. loafers time i went with her i watched it. she had to live two months at a time. let's take it march and april and look at the lists and i want you to get a card for these people so i went by looking and thinking about the relationship she had with the person and the type of person she was. i got it right. most people that are busy senate their people and get the function done. she was very thoughtful and considerate.

that is how many people outgoing and home going and so many people personally. >> any irony in fact that "desert rose: the life and legacy of coretta scott king" was published by the university of alabama? >> still a lot running. much of the movement was concentrated in alabama. with the irony is we remembered george wallace locking the doors at the university of alabama keeping them in. you fast forward to the day alabama basically told martin luther king jr. out of alabama, agitator leaguers little disturbing the peace in birmingham and the book about mom's wife from alabama and dad's life together published by

the university of alabama. the greater irony is on june 11th when george wallace blocked the door -- i think it was 63 but the irony is june 11th is the same date edith got back into town. isn't that ironic? >> host: when was the last conversation you had with your mother? >> oh one of. i don't remember--literally my last conversation. my mother had a stroke in august of 2005. from that point forward she

didn't talk a lot. i don't remember the exact conversation but i remember the sunday before she had a stroke, it was in the bahamas. that i had gotten in and make sure she was okay. she had a minor stroke two weeks before and everything was ok and i asked to find the paper work and to make sure i got on her bank account and she signed paperwork and that was our last real conversation. i will give you a call on tuesday. she had a stroke on tuesday. the rest of my conversation said a few words here and there. >> host: what are you doing

these days? >> guest: i am the ceo of the institution my mother founded. we are in the process of expanding our educational platform so it can be more available online as well as the view in the school system because her mission was to get non violence that becomes a way of life and the only way to do that is education for young people. that is the mandate to helped bring about and talk about by teaching people and educate them in the methodology that he talked and lived and developing leaders in the same spirit as dr. king. that is what i am doing and also

in the process of building a new facility that will be more interactive when young people come. it will be like a social disney experience but when you leave it is like you have been entertained but you are inspired and educated at the same time. experience -- education. >> host: is ebenezer still active church? >> guest: it is. there are two locations. heritage sanctuary which is just restored and reopened where people can come and sits next to the king center. mother made sure she played the king center in the community to preserve -- and for 30 or 40 or 50. many of the homes and one of them was my father and what

ebenezer is sitting there, of their homes in the community in a better place. the new sanctuary -- they are now building a community used for my grandfather who passed from ebenezer for 44 years. the martin king senior community center. >> host: we have been talking with bernice king, the daughter of coretta scott king. this is a book written by her aunt, sister of coretta scott king pushed to publication by bernice king. there is an afterword by miss king. "desert rose: the life and legacy of coretta scott king". >> you are watching an interview from booktv's recent trip to new york city for book expo america. the publishing industry's annual

trade show. for more information visit bookexpoamerica.com. what are you reading this summer? booktv wants to know. >> the homeland security committee. i am doing work of going into my personal reading so i am reading a number of books on islamic terrorism and american response to 9/11 and what we're doing as far as war in afghanistan iraq. jose rodriguez was head of the team that put together the interrogation methods on september 11th including water boarding which has been criticized. very well-written book and army intelligence by the cia -- orchestrating managing directing the war in afghanistan after 9/11 and fascinating reading.

samuel claimant, the obama administration's policies as far as what they are doing in iraq and afghanistan and how their policies are being pursued. shows a side of the president which indicates his policies are not that different in many cases from president bush's. the hunt for bin laden which is starting now, details the ten year manhattan for bin laden which ended very successfully west may when he was killed. and dr. sidney jackson who was a witness has a book called battle for the soul of islam which is american muslim's attempt to focus american muslims on the war against al qaeda and islamic extremism.