Dexter Scott King, youngest son of MLK, dies of prostate cancer

Published 3:30 pm Monday, January 22, 2024

By Ernie Suggs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The children of Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, left to right, Rev. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King react during a musical tribute to Coretta Scott King at the new Ebenezer Church Feb. 6, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia. King's casket will lie in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached in the 1960s and the civil rights matriarch remained a member until her death. King died Jan. 31 in Mexico at an alternative medicine clinic, where doctors said she was battling advanced ovarian cancer. (John Bazemore/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Coretta and Martin Luther King Jr. has died. The King Center announced Monday afternoon that he died earlier in the day after a “valiant battle with prostate cancer.”

“He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu,” said his wife of 11 years, Leah Weber King. “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.”

Bernice King, the youngest of the King children, said “Words cannot express the heartbreak,” of losing a sibling.

“I’m praying for strength to get through this very difficult time,” she said.

The King family’s oldest sibling, Yolanda King died suddenly in 2007.

“The sudden shock is devastating,” Martin Luther King III said Monday. “It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”

———

Marketplace

You Might Like