Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, June 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott wed in the front yard of

Scott's childhood home in rural Perry County, Alabama. I do love a yard wedding and we will get into some of the details.

This was the biggest one that the town had ever seen. Some 350 people were there.

Lots of lovely details about the ceremony and some telling ones as well.

For instance, Coretta had the vow to obey her husband removed from the ceremony,

which as you can imagine.

Yeah.

Even in the early 50s, that was quite the unusual and telling move.

So in this episode, let's get into the relationship between these two extraordinary people,

though a relationship that feels in some ways, like many other relationships for good and bad and very complex.

Here as always Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.

Hello there.

Hello Jody. Hey there. We will complexify. We will talk

about what this relationship meant for the two of them, both extraordinary people in

their own right and a remarkable you know a remarkable marriage let's

linger in the ceremony itself though for a second before we I love a yard wedding I do love

my reception with my parents backyard like I feel like father the the Bride has been my inspiration.

This was a front yard wedding which is a little more rare but there you go.

So you know is that if you have a wedding on a front yard,

is that basically an invitation for anyone to roll in?

...