MLK Children Sue Each Other
In what should make every single person who greatly respects Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the tremendous work he did for the civil rights movement, his three remaining children have gone to court in what can be called a family dispute gone wild.
The case is as follows: Dexter King is the head of his father’s estate. He’s older living MLK child. His younger sister, Rev. Bernice King, has papers of her mother in her possession which Dexter wants (and has) to use for a book about this parents.
Bernice refuses to give the papers to him, however, saying her mother did not want them to be used for a book of any kind. Dexter says this is not true, and wants to write an historically correct account of his parents’ lives and struggle.
He signed a book deal with Penguin books, but will have to get the papers from his mother by Friday. If he does not, the deal will be cancelled.
“This is not in the spirit of our parents,” Dexter King said. “It’s not the way we were raised. It’s just very disheartening.”
“This is really about a power struggle between siblings,” he said. “I’ve included them, but they’ve excluded me. They’re the ones who are trying to change or rewrite history. This is not something I asked for. This is not something I started.”
His siblings also responded to media enquiries, releasing a statement that said: “We are saddened that we are forced to make public statements about family matters that should be handled privately,” the statement read. “However, as our father taught us, we must respond to unjust criticism … Our stand against the publication of the memoirs of our mother … is not merely a family feud but rather our ongoing attempt to protect and maintain the integrity of our mother’s legacy. Although she is no longer here to speak for herself, it is important that the integrity and validity of her voice be reflected.”
What the case, and whatever the truth, it is incredibly saddening to see these three individuals squander the legacy of their parents, and to take each other to court simply because they disagree about their mother’s papers.
Whoever wins, they should all be ashamed of themselves.
