ATLANTA– The daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remembered her late brother Tuesday as a fierce and visionary steward of their father’s legacy.
The Rev. Bernice King at times choked back tears as she shared memories of her childhood and recent visits with Dexter Scott King, who died Monday after a yearlong battle with prostate cancer. He was 62.
“As you can imagine, this may be the hardest thing I can do,” she said. “I love you Dexter.”
Bernice King said she spent a lot of time this year with her older brother — the third of four children raised by Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King.
“He often said to me and I told him, ‘I love you,’” she said at The King Center in Atlanta, where she is CEO. “And he looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m proud of you and the work you’ve done. And you continue with it. I know you’ll do well. Keep this legacy going. You got this.’”
Coretta Scott King launched the center in 1968 to commemorate her husband and promote his philosophy of nonviolent social change. Dexter King was chairman of the center’s board, which has not yet announced a successor.
Bernice King said her brother showed an interest in business from a young age. He reminded the family that Martin Luther King fought for copyright protection for his “I Have a Dream” speech, telling his siblings that Bernice King said they should protect their father’s intellectual property.
“He had a vision to build something that would bring my father to life through technology,” said Bernice King, surrounded by other family members. She added, “Dexter was a strategist.”
The center offers virtual classes on Martin Luther King’s philosophy of nonviolence. Tuesday’s press conference began with a music video featuring Whitney Houston and other artists, which was produced in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s first national holiday. in 1986. Bernice King said her brother was instrumental in the production of the song and video.
She also alluded to the pressure Dexter King faced as the son of perhaps the nation’s most prominent civil rights leader, whom he also strongly resembled. Bernice King recalled that her brother went through a “rough patch” when he took a job with the Atlanta Police Department early in his life and had to carry a gun — something frowned upon in a family steeped in the philosophy of nonviolence.
Dexter King and his siblings, who shared control of the family estate, did not always agree on how to uphold their parents’ legacy. In addition to Bernice King, he is survived by an older brother, Martin Luther King III. He was out of the country and could not attend Tuesday’s event, Bernice King said.
The eldest of the four King siblings, Yolanda, died in 2007.
Bernice King downplayed her differences with Dexter King, saying she always agreed with her brother in principle. And she said they remained close throughout his life.
“None of that has destroyed our love and respect for each other,” she said of their differences.
The family honored Dexter King’s wishes and cremated him. They plan to host additional events to commemorate him.