Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 62 after battling prostate cancer

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Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 62 after battling prostate cancer

ATLANTA – Dexter Scott King, who dedicated much of his life to preserving his parents’ civil rights legacy, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died Monday after a battle with prostate cancer. He is 62 years old.

The King Center in Atlanta, of which Dexter King serves as chairman, said the civil rights icon’s youngest son died at his home in Malibu, California. His wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement that he died “peacefully in his sleep.”

“The sudden shock was devastating,” Martin Luther King III, brother of Dexter King, said in a statement. “It’s hard to have the right words at a time like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”

The third of King’s four children, Dexter King was named after the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served as pastor when the Montgomery bus boycott launched him into national prominence following Rosa’s arrest in 1955. Garden.

Dexter King was just 7 years old when his father was killed in April 1968 while supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.

“He turned that pain into activism, however, and dedicated his life to advancing the dreams of Martin and Coretta Scott King for their children” and others, the Reverend Al Sharpton said in a statement. He said Dexter King “left us too soon.”

Dexter Scott King died Monday after a battle with prostate cancer. He is 62 years old. WireImage

US Senator Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, said he prayed with the King’s family on Monday and conveyed “my deepest condolences, strength, and solidarity to them in this time of remembrance and grief. .”

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Dexter King describes the impact his father’s murder had on his childhood, and throughout his life, in his 2004 memoir, “Growing Up King.”

“Since I was seven years old, I felt I had to be formal,” he wrote, adding: “Formality, seriousness, certainty — all these are difficult poses to maintain, even if you are a person of perfect balance, with all the drama life throws at you.

As an adult, Dexter King bore such a striking resemblance to his famous father that he was cast to portray him in the 2002 TV movie about Parks starring Angela Bassett.

He also works to protect the intellectual property of the King family. In addition to serving as the chairman of the Raja Center, he is also the president of the Raja’s estate.

The third of King’s four children, Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served as pastor when the Montgomery bus boycott was launched. Getty Images Dexter King, Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III prepare for their first Christmas after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Everett/Shutterstock

Dexter King and his siblings, who share control of the family estate, don’t always agree on how to defend their parents’ legacy.

In a particularly bitter dispute, the siblings ended up in court after Dexter King and his brother in 2014 sought to sell the Nobel Peace Prize their father was awarded in 1964 along with the civil rights leader’s travel Bible used by President Barack Obama for his inauguration his second . Bernice King said she found the notion unthinkable.

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The King brothers settled the dispute in 2016 after former President Jimmy Carter served as mediator. The goods were handed over to the brothers, but the other terms of the settlement were kept secret.

Decades earlier, Dexter King made headlines when he publicly declared that he believed James Earl Ray, who pleaded guilty in 1969 to murdering his father, was innocent.

Growing up, King bore a resemblance to his famous father who cast him in the 2002 TV movie about Parks starring Angela Bassett. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

They met in 1997 in a Nashville jail amid an unsuccessful push by King family members for Ray to stand trial, hoping the case would reveal evidence of a wider conspiracy.

When Ray said during their prison meeting that he was not a murderer, Dexter King replied: “I believe you and my family believes you.” But Ray never got a trial. He died of liver failure the following year.

Dexter King is survived by his wife as well as his brother, Martin Luther King III; his younger sister, Rev. Bernice A. King; and niece, Yolanda Renee King.

King was just 7 years old when his father was killed in April 1968 while supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. WireImage

Coretta Scott King died in 2006, followed by King’s eldest daughter, Yolanda Denise King, in 2007.

“Words cannot express the pain I feel for losing another sibling,” Bernice King said in a statement.

A memorial service will be announced later, the Raja Center said. The family plans a news conference Tuesday in Atlanta.

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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/