Martin Luther King III to head King Center again

Published 9:16 am Wednesday, April 7, 2010

By AP
AP

Martin Luther King III has been named president and chief executive officer of The King Center.

The center made the announcement on Tuesday. He replaces his cousin, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., who has served in the position since 2005.

Dexter Scott King remains as chairman of The King Center, which was founded by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow, Coretta Scott King, shortly after his death in 1968 to preserve and promote his legacy.

The surviving King siblings — Dexter, Martin and Bernice King — have been at odds in recent years and had to surrender control of their father’s estate while they attempt a court-ordered reconciliation.

Email newsletter signup

All three children are lifetime board members of The King Center, though Bernice King is not an officer. They presented a united front Tuesday in making the announcement, with both brothers being very complimentary toward each other and their sister also heaping on praise.

“It’s the right time, and Martin is in the right place to take this great organization forward,” Dexter King said in a statement.

Bernice King said she is, “proud that my brothers and I are speaking with one voice to communicate our parents’ legacy to the world.”

The move has placed all three children in leadership positions with organizations connected to their father. In October, Bernice King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded in 1957. She is scheduled to take the helm later this month.

Martin Luther King III also heads Realizing the Dream, Inc., a nonprofit organization he started in 2006 to address global poverty and spread the nonviolent philosophy espoused by his parents.

Bernice and Martin Luther King III commemorated the 42nd anniversary of their father’s assassination on Sunday with a wreath-laying at their parents’ crypt, which is on the grounds of The King Center.

———

On the Net:

Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change: http://www.thekingcenter.org

You Might Like