Dorothy Cotton was an American Civil Rights activist and leader, most well-known for being the only woman in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inner circle. Ms. Cotton traveled with Dr. King to Oslo, Norway, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1964. Cotton became an activist while a member of Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, under the leadership of the pastor, Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. Pastor Walker was also the leader of the Petersburg branch of the NAACP. Cotton became the secretary for that NAACP branch. In 1959, she organized protests against segregation in Petersburg’s public library and the whites-only lunch counter in the local Woolworth’s. She first met Dr. King when he spoke at Gillfield Baptist. She would later accompany Pastor Walker when he was invited by Dr. King, to Atlanta. Dr. King would offer Pastor Walker the position of Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Cotton would worked with Pastor Walker and became the Educational Director, overseeing the CEP, which was a training program for voting-rights activism and non-violent protest. She also trained children for the Children’s Crusade and in 1964, she organized the SCLC’s night marches in Saint Augustine, Florida. In working with Dr. King, she became the highest-ranking woman in King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
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Church Affiliation:Gillfield Baptist Church
Role in the Movement:Dorothy Cotton was an American Civil Rights activist and leader, most well-known for being the only woman in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inner circle.
Birth Place:Goldsboro, NC
Born Date:June 9, 1930
Deceased Date:June 10, 2018
Place Lived as Adult:Atlanta, GA; Ithaca, NY
Church Location:Petersburg, VA