[2] King attended Howard University as an undergraduate, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and education in 1962.

[3][4] She later attended the George Washington University for graduate courses in public administration.

[3][4] King began her career teaching in Niagara Falls, New York and Washington, DC.

[5] In 1986, she was appointed Deputy Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and Director of the office for Intergovernmental Affairs.

King, Washington Post columnist and the editorial page's deputy editor.