Dexter Scott King, the younger son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died Monday after battling prostate cancer.
The King Center in Atlanta, which Dexter King served as chairman, said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights icon died at his home in Malibu, California. His wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement that he died “peacefully in his sleep.”
The third of the Kings' four children, Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father first served as a pastor. He was just 7 years old when his father was assassinated in 1968.
As an adult, Dexter King became an attorney and focused on shepherding his father’s legacy and protecting the King family’s intellectual property. In addition to serving as chairman of the King Center, he was also president of the King estate.
Coretta Scott King died in 2006, followed by the Kings' oldest child Yolanda King in 2007.
“Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling," the Rev. Bernice A. King, Dexter King's youngest sibling, said in a statement.
His older brother, Martin Luther King III, said: "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“.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s family is fighting to protect his legacy
Many have criticized King's family for taking legal actions against companies reprinting or re-airing the activist's iconic speeches.
