The youngest son of renowned Civil Rights Icon Martin Luther King Jr, Dexter King, has passed away at the age of 62
The King Centre confirmed King’s death on Monday, stating that he died on Monday after a “valiant battle with prostate cancer” at his California home.
“He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu. He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end. As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might,” his wife, Leah Weber King, disclosed.
“Words cannot express the heartbreak I feel from losing another sibling,” Bernice King disclosed about her brother’s death.
“I’m praying for strength to get through this very difficult time. 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 III said.
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King left behind by his wife of 11 years, Leah, his brothers Bernice and Martin III, and his niece Yolanda Renee King.
He dedicated his life to preserving his father’s intellectual property and served as Chairman of The King Centre and President of the King Estate, according to a statement from the King Centre.
“He was the family member delegated to take on the mantle of continuing the precedent his father set by legally protecting his work,” the King Center said in a statement. “He devoted his life to the continued perpetuation of his father’s legacy and the protection of the intellectual property his father left behind.”
He was the King family’s second-born son, born on January 30, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents named him after Montgomery, Alabama’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where his father was the first pastor. He was only 7 years old when his father was slain in 1968.