Coretta was a farmer’s daughter, a self-described tomboy. She owned a nice coat and a few good dresses, but she cared little about impressing people with her clothes. She combed her hair and put on makeup in the morning, and then she was done for the day. She was not the type to freshen up and retrace her lipstick—until Martin suggested that she pay more attention to her appearance. “Perhaps you’d like to go to the ladies’ room and comb your hair,” he would say. “You look so pretty with lipstick on.” Later, Coretta said, she realized that this was Martin’s way of grooming her for the role of
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