Dexter Scott King, the youthful son of the late civil rights chief Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died on Monday of prostate most cancers, the King Middle in Atlanta introduced.
His spouse, Leah Weber King, mentioned he died in his sleep at his Malibu, California, residence. He was 62.
“He gave it the whole lot and battled this horrible illness till the tip. As with all of the challenges in his life, he confronted this hurdle with bravery and would possibly,” she mentioned.
Dexter King was born in Atlanta on Jan. 30, 1961, and was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, the place his father served his first pastorate.
He was seven years outdated when his father was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
“Phrases can not specific the heartbreak I really feel from shedding one other sibling,” mentioned Reverend Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of the King Middle, in an announcement.“I’m praying for energy to get by this very tough time.”
Dexter King adopted in his father’s footsteps to attend Morehouse School in Atlanta. On the time of his dying, he served as each chairman of the King Middle and president of the King Property.
He additionally was an actor and portrayed his father within the 2002 tv film “The Rosa Parks Story.”
Reverend Al Sharpton, founder and president of civil rights organisation the Nationwide Motion Community, mentioned he was “heartbroken” to listen to of King’s passing.
“Dexter was solely seven when his hero, his function mannequin, and, most significantly, his father was taken from us,” Sharpton mentioned in an announcement. “He turned that ache into activism, nevertheless, and devoted his life to advancing the dream Martin and Coretta Scott King had for his or her kids, their grandchildren, and all of the generations to come back after.”
He was preceded in dying by his father and his mom, who died in 2006, and sister Yolanda, who died in 2007. He’s survived by his spouse of 11 years Leah Weber King, his sister Bernice King, his brother Martin Luther King III, his niece, Yolanda Renee King, and different members of the family.
