Dexter Scott King, the son of Martin Luther King Jr., dies at age 62 from cancer

Following a battle with prostate cancer, Dexter Scott King, who devoted a significant portion of his life to preserving his parents’ civil rights legacy—the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King—passed away on Monday. He was sixty-two.

The civil rights icon’s younger son passed away at home in Malibu, California, according to the King Center in Atlanta, where Dexter King held the position of chairman. He passed away “peacefully in his sleep,” according to a statement from his wife, Leah Weber King.

Dexter King’s elder brother, Martin Luther King III, stated in a statement, “The sudden shock is devastating.” “Having the appropriate words in such a situation is difficult. At this time, we kindly ask that you keep the King family in your prayers.

Dexter King, the third of the King family’s four children, got his name from the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father was a minister prior to the bus boycott that brought him national attention after Rosa Parks’ 1955 arrest.

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

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement, “He turned that pain into activism, however, and dedicated his life to advancing the dream Martin and Coretta Scott King had for their children” and others. Dexter King “left us far too soon,” according to him.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is the senior pastor. He said he prayed with the King family on Monday and offered “my deepest condolences, strength, and solidarity to them during this time of remembrance and grief.”

Dexter King wrote a book titled “Growing Up King” in 2004 that detailed the effects of his father’s murder on his early years and subsequent years.

He remarked, “Since I was seven years old, I’ve felt that I have to project a formal demeanor.” He continued, “Even if you have perfect equilibrium, maintaining formality, seriousness, and certitude can be challenging when dealing with life’s unexpected events.”

Dexter King resembled his well-known father so much as an adult that he was chosen to play him in a 2002 television film on Parks that starred Angela Bassett.

He also made an effort to safeguard the intellectual property of the King family. He held the positions of president of the King estate and chairman of the King Center.

Sharing management of the family fortune, Dexter King and his siblings weren’t always in agreement on how to carry on their parents’ legacy.

After a particularly acrimonious argument, the brothers ended themselves in court when Dexter King and his brother attempted to sell the Nobel Peace Prize their father had received in 1964 as well as the traveling Bible that the civil rights activist had worn for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2014. According to Bernice King, the idea seemed unimaginable.

In 2016, the King siblings reached a settlement under the mediation of former President Jimmy Carter. The brothers received the things, but additional details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Many years ago, Dexter King gained notoriety when he openly said that he thought James Earl Ray, who had admitted to killing his father in 1969, was not guilty. They first spoke in 1997 in a jail in Nashville, during the failed attempt by King family members to have Ray put on trial in the hopes that the case would turn up proof of a larger conspiracy.

In response to Ray’s admission that he wasn’t the murderer during their encounter in jail, Dexter King responded, “I believe you and my family believes you.” However, Ray never received a trial. The next year he passed away due to liver failure.

In addition to his wife, Dexter King is survived by his younger sister, the Rev. Bernice A. King, his elder brother, Martin Luther King III, and his adolescent niece, Yolanda Renee King.

Yolanda Denise King, the eldest child of the King family, passed away in 2007 after Coretta Scott King passed away in 2006.

In a statement, Bernice King stated, “Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling.”

A memorial ceremony is scheduled at a later time, according to the King Center. The family scheduled an Atlanta press conference on Tuesday.