Cotton was born in 1930 was a great leader. She was part of the inner circle of the organization SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). Cotton was the educational director for the civil rights group. And is arguably the highest ranked female in the organization in the 1960’s. She also, helped with the 1963 Birmingham movement by organizing the students. She was such a leader in the civil rights movement that she went to Norway with Martin Luther King Jr. to receive his Nobel prize.​