Martin Luther King Jr.'s Children Carry On His Legacy To This Day
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Martin Luther King Jr. left behind a lasting legacy when he was tragically killed in 1968. His teachings are a part of our culture, but they're especially celebrated every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The late activist’s children have also carried on his work.
King’s four children—Bernice, Yolanda, Dexter, and Martin Luther King III—continue to work to bring their father’s message of racial equality and nonviolent resistance to the world. Together, they've switched off as leaders of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and have spoken out on important issues, including racial injustice, gun control, and climate change.
But who are King’s children, exactly? Here’s what you need to know.
Bernice King
The youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice was just five when her father was shot. She told Time in 2018 that she didn’t want to be a “mini-Martin Luther King Jr., in the sense that I was just spouting out these things from my head.” Instead, she said, “I wanted them to be a part of my heart. I had to discover me first, so that if I adopted any of him, it would be genuine and it wouldn’t be something that I was just doing because I heard it or because it was just the right thing to do. I believe and subscribe to these things from the depth of my soul.”
Like her father, Bernice is a minister, and she’s served as CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change since 2012. Bernice often focuses on her father’s practice of nonviolence, noting on her website that she strives to create “a more peaceful, just, and humane world.” She recently did an interview with the Associated Press where she called on people not to channel the "hateful rhetoric" of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, adding, "we can’t become them.”
Bernice regularly gives talks to the public, called Beloved Community Talks, to discuss racial issues. She’s also very active with youth, creating the Camp N.O.W. Leadership Academy, which has encouraged children in the U.S. and beyond to learn about the nonviolent principles her father preached, and Students with King, which allows students to interact with her family.
Yolanda King
Yolanda was 13 years old when her father died, and she once told The New York Times that he was her “first buddy.”
Yolanda worked as an actor and motivational speaker, speaking about the importance of non-violent protests and equality. She also created and produced plays, and acted in commercials.
Yolanda died in 2007 at the age of 51.
Dexter King
Dexter was seven when his father died, and he told the Chicago Tribune that his time with his father “is like yesterday.”
“I'm living in step time. Forget what he did in terms of his service and commitment and contribution to humankind ... I miss my dad,” he said.
Dexter has worked in media and entertainment and has produced films, records, and TV specials concerning the civil rights movement, according to his King Institute biography. His animated movie, Our Friend Martin, was nominated for an Emmy in 1999. He is also the author of Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir.
While Dexter has worked as an activist, he hasn’t been as vocal as his sisters and brother. “I am not someone who will be out there leading pickets. I am more of a behind-the-scenes motivator. That is what I do best,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “That is what I understand. I can call people at the highest level. My father did not have that luxury because he did not have access."
Martin Luther King III
Martin is the oldest of Martin Luther King Jr.’s children. He was 11 when his father died. Martin works as an ambassador of his father’s legacy of nonviolent social change and has devoted his life to non-profit work to promote civil rights and global human rights, according to his King Institute biography.
Martin was elected the fourth president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1997, where he lead marches, convening police brutality hearings, and organized gun buy-back programs. He held that role until 2003, his bio states.
“I think a culture of nonviolence will help create the condition where poverty is unacceptable, where racism is way behind us and not something that we have to deal with on a frequent basis, and where militarism and violence are reduced almost to be nonexistent,” Martin told Time in 2018.
You Might Also Like
