DEXTER Scott King, the son of Coretta Scott and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at age 62 following a battle with prostate cancer.
The youngest son of the iconic civil rights activist died on Monday, The King Center announced.
“He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu,” Dexter’s wife, Leah Weber King, said.
“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.”
“Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling,” Dr. Bernice A. King, Dexter’s sister and CEO of The King Center, said as she mourned 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,” Dexter’s older brother, Martin Luther King III, added.
“We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”
Dexter’s death comes exactly a week after his father’s birthday, which is celebrated annually across the nation on January 15.
Born in Atlanta on January 30, 1961, Dexter was named after the church Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father conducted his first pastorate.
Dexter, the second child of Dr. King and Coretta Scott, was 7 years old when his father was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968.
In May 1989, his mother picked Dexter as the successor and president of The King Center, but he resigned only four months after taking the post.
He resumed the position in 1994 and continued preaching his father’s legacy while at the same time protecting the family’s intellectual property.
Dexter is survived by his wife, Leah Weber, sister, Dr. Bernice King, brother, Martin Luther King III, and his niece, Yolanda Renee King.
