Dexter Scott King, the youngest son and the third child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, has passed.
The King Center announced that Dexter passed today after a valiant battle with prostate cancer.
“He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu”, said Leah Weber King, his wife of 11 years. “He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end. As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might.”
His sister Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center stated, “words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling. I’m praying for strength to get through this very difficult time,”
His brother Martin Luther King, III added ‘‘the sudden shock is devastating. It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”
Born in Atlanta on Jan. 30, 1961, he was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama, where his father served his first pastorate. The 62-year-old was the second-born son of Dr. & Mrs. King and was only seven years old when his father was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.
Like his father, he grew up in Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his grandfather served as Pastor. He was a graduate of Frederick Douglas High School, where he played football and participated in many other school organizations. He then he followed his father’s footsteps to Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia.
The son of the Civil Rights icons was the family member delegated to take on the mantel of continuing the precedent his father set by legally protecting his work.
He devoted his life to the continued perpetuation of his father’s legacy and the protection of the intellectual property (IP) his father left behind.
At the time of his death Dexter served as both Chairman of The King Center and President of the King Estate….
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