It must have been hard living up to Martin Luther King Jr.’s name, but Dexter Scott King bore the weight well. In 2003, he told CNN, “People would say, ‘I want you to be just like your father,’ or ‘You should be a minister.” Rather than preach to the masses, Dexter’s path in life was to bring awareness to his father’s teachings by opening up The King Center in Atlanta Georgia. “We continue to educate the world about his teachings of nonviolence. We want [MLK’s teachings] to be intact for generations yet unborn,” he stated.
As an attorney, Dexter used his knowledge to preserve his father’s intellectual property through The King Center. “He was the family member delegated to take on the mantle of continuing the precedent his father set by legally protecting his work,” the organization said in a statement, per NBC News.
Along with his wife, Leah Weber King, Dexter is survived by his sister, Reverend Dr. Bernice King, and his brother, Martin Luther King, III. “Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling,” Dr. Bernice stated, per PBS. Martin 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.”
As reported by Fox5, the family will hold a press conference on January 23 at The King Center and will give an update on Dexter’s memorial service in the near future.