Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 62

Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has died, the King Center announced Monday.

King, 62, died after a “valiant battle with prostate cancer,” the King Center said.

Leah Weber King, King’s wife of 11 years, said in a written statement that her husband “transitioned peacefully” in his sleep at their home in California.

“He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end,” Weber King said. “As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might.”

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King was born in Atlanta in 1961. He was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served his first pastorate.

He was just seven years old when his father was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

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King followed in his father’s footsteps and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. While a love of the arts led him to move to California to pursue an acting career, he ultimately devoted himself to legally protecting his father’s legacy and intellectual property surrounding the King family’s work.

He served as chairman of the King Center at the time of his death.

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King is survived by his wife, his sister Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King and his brother Martin Luther King III. He was preceded by his mother, who died in 2006, and his sister Yolanda, who died in 2007.