“My reasons for leading were not centered on my needs but on the needs of my people, of women, and of my community.”

King grew up in Georgia in the 1940s as the daughter of farm laborers.  Her father left the family when she was young, so her mother worked as a maid to support her three children. Her family was so poor that she often had to leave school to work in the cotton fields for $3 per day so her mother could pay the bills. "Those were bitter moments in my experience, because white children didn't have to leave school," she recalled. "That contrast was so clear and so wrong."

King found her gender represented another barrier to opportunity. "You had to reach down deep to reinforce your courage in order to overcome both race and gender. To find inspiration, I would think back on the sisters and teachers along the way who had such great influence on my life."

She was eventually recruited by the CEO of General Mills to be president of the General Mills Foundation. Using this platform, she pioneered programs to help young people of color. Since King retired from General Mills, she has devoted her energies to corporate boards.

Her reputation grew as she was elected to the boards of directors of ExxonMobil and Wells Fargo Bank, as well as Minnesota Mutual, Department 56, and H. B. Fuller. In 2004 the National Association of Corporate Directors named her Director of the Year. "I enjoy opportunities to serve on corporate boards because diversity should be at that table. Not everybody likes being the only one there, but I feel comfortable," she said.