Dexter Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Son, Has Passed Away

A week to the day since our nationwide annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day, we must now sadly report that the King family has experienced yet another loss with the death of Dexter Scott King. The youngest son of the late great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and equally missed Coretta Scott King, Dexter succumbed on Monday to an extensive battle with prostate cancer. He was 62 years old. MORE: Rest In Power: Notable Black People Who Have Died This Year More reactions below from the surviving King Family members on the shocking death of Dexter Scott King, via NBC News:

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“‘Words cannot express the heartbreak,’ said the Rev. Bernice King, the youngest of the King children. ‘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. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family,’ Martin Luther King III, the King’s oldest surviving child, said in a statement. Dexter King attended Morehouse College and later served as the chairman of the King Center, leading the efforts to protect his family’s legacy and intellectual property. He was also president of the King Estate. ‘He was the family member delegated to take on the mantle of continuing the precedent his father set by legally protecting his work,’ the King Center said in a statement.  ‘He devoted his life to the continued perpetuation of his father’s legacy and the protection of the intellectual property his father left behind.’” The Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network, offered a moving tribute to Dexter King in a statement emailed to NewsOne. “I was heartbroken to hear that Dexter King left us this morning, but I was comforted by the knowledge he is reunited with his parents and sister,” Sharpton wrote in part. “Dexter was only seven when his hero, his role model, and, most importantly, his father was taken from us. He turned that pain into activism, however, and dedicated his life to advancing the dream Martin and Coretta Scott King had for their children, their grandchildren, and all the generations to come after. My love and prayers are with my brother, Martin III, Arndrea, Yolanda, and Bernice. We mourn with them for the loss of their brother – our brother – who left us far too soon.” In addition to activism work in the vain of his dad, Dexter was also an accomplished author with his 2003 memoir, Growing Up King. In addition, he also contributed to acting in the 1978 miniseries King, The Rosa Parks Story television movie from 2002 starring Angela Bassett and the 1999 animated educational film Our Friend, Martin amongst other projects. Without question, he will be greatly missed.

May his soul gain peace in the afterlife with both his dad and mom. Take a look below at some images of the late Dexter Scott King over the years.

1. Dexter Scott King, Coretta Scott King and Jane Fonda attend Twister premiere Benefiting G-CAPP at The Fox Theater in Atlanta Georgia (1996)

2. Former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington (1922 – 1987) and Dexter King at a birthday tribute to Martin Luther King Jr at the Medinah Temple (1985)

3. Martin Luther King III, Dr. Bernice King, and Dexter Scott King attend "The Redemption Project With Van Jones" in Atlanta (2019)

4. Coretta Scott King with Yolanda (8), Martin Luther King III (6), Dexter (3) and Bernice (11 months) (1964)

5. Coretta Scott King, Martin III, Dexter, Harry Belafonte and Dr. Ralph Abernathy lead 10,000 in a memorial march for Dr. King (1968)

6. Dexter Scott King at NBC's Television Special "An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr." (1986)

7. Dexter Scott King attends the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (2013)

8. Tyrese and Dexter Scott King at the 'Fast & Furious 6' premiere (2013)

9. Dexter Scott King and Ms. Xernona Clayton at the Salute to Greatness Awards Dinner 20th Anniversary Holiday Observance at King Center in ATL (2006)

10. Dexter Scott King Book Signing His Book 'Growing Up King' in Los Angeles (2003)

11. Dexter Scott King, Coretta Scott King and Sammy Davis Jr. at The Victory Awards (1988)

12. The King Family at the memorial service for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1968)