Martin Luther King's daughter recalls late brother as strong guardian of their father's legacy

ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter remembered her late brother on Tuesday as a fierce and visionary steward of their father's legacy.

The Rev. Bernice King choked back tears at times as she shared memories of her childhood and recent visits with Dexter Scott King, who died Monday at his home in Malibu, California, after a yearslong battle with prostate cancer. He was 62.

“As you can imagine, this is perhaps the hardest thing for me to do,” she said. "I love you Dexter.”

Bernice King said she spent meaningful time this year with her older brother — the third of four children raised by Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King.

“He often told me and I told him, ‘I love you,'" she said at The King Center in Atlanta, where she serves as CEO. “And he looked in my eyes and said, ‘I’m proud of you and the work that you’ve been doing. And you take it forward. I know you’re going to do a good job. Keep this legacy going. You got this.’”

Coretta Scott King launched the center in 1968 to memorialize her husband and to advance his philosophy of nonviolent social change. Dexter King was chair of the center's board, which hasn't yet announced a successor.

Bernice King said that from an early age, her brother showed interest in business. He would remind the family that Martin Luther King fought for copyright protection for his “I Have a Dream” speech, telling his siblings that they had to protect their father's intellectual property, according to Bernice King.

“He had a vision to build something that would bring my father to life through technology,” Bernice King said, surrounded by other family members. She added, “Dexter was a strategist."

The center offers virtual classes on Martin Luther King’s philosophy of nonviolence. Tuesday's news conference started with a music video featuring Whitney Houston and other artists that was produced to celebrate the first Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday in 1986. Bernice King said her brother was instrumental in producing the song and video.

She also alluded to some of the pressure Dexter King experienced as the son of perhaps the country's most prominent civil rights leader, whom he also closely resembled. Bernice King recalled that her brother went through a “rough patch” when he took a job with Atlanta police early in his life and had to carry a gun — something that was frowned upon in a family steeped in the philosophy of nonviolence.

He also faced criticism that he was trying to profit from their father's legacy, which was not his intent, she added.

Dexter King and his siblings, who shared control of the family estate, didn’t always agree on how to uphold their parents' legacy. In addition to Bernice King, he is survived by older brother Martin Luther King III. He was out of the country and unable to attend Tuesday's event, Bernice King said.

The eldest of the four King siblings, Yolanda, died in 2007.

Bernice King downplayed her differences with Dexter King, saying she always agreed with her brother in principle. And she said the two of them remained close throughout his life.

“None of that destroyed our love and our respect for each other," she said, of their differences.

The family honored Dexter King's wishes and cremated him. They plan to hold additional events to memorialize him.

FILE - Dexter King, son of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., listens to arguments in the State Court of Criminal Appeals in Jackson, Tenn., Friday, Aug. 29, 1997, to determine whether two Memphis judges have overstepped their authority surrounding the investigation of the King assassination. The King Center in Atlanta said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (Helen Comer/The Jackson Sun via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - The children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, from left, Martin Luther King, Jr. III, Dexter King, Yolanda King and Bernice King stand next to a new crypt dedicated to their parents in Atlanta, Monday Nov. 20, 2006. The King Center in Atlanta said Dexter, the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader, died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/W.A. Harewood, File)

FILE - This 1966 file photo is the last official portrait taken of the entire King family, made in the study of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. From left are Dexter King, Yolanda King, Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice King, Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King III. The King Center in Atlanta said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Bernice King daughter of civil-right leader Martin Luther King Jr., wipes a tear as she speaks about her brother Dexter Scott King during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Dexter died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Bernice King daughter of civil-right leader Martin Luther King Jr., right, is embraced by her cousin Angela Farris Watkins as she speaks about her brother Dexter Scott King during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Dexter died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Bernice King daughter of slain civil-right leader Martin Luther King Jr., becomes emotional as she speaks about her brother Dexter Scott King during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Dexter died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Bernice King daughter of civil-right leader Martin Luther King Jr., left, gets a kiss from Alveda King a she speaks about her brother Dexter Scott King during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Dexter died Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at his California home after battling prostate cancer. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Bernice King, center, gets emotional as she speaks during a news conference on the passing of her brother, Dexter Scott King, son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Yolanda D. King Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 in Atlanta. Also pictured is Angela Farris Watkins, left, Alveda King, second from right, and King Estate General Council Eric Tidwell, right. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Bernice King walks to the podium during a news conference on the passing of her brother, Dexter Scott King, son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Yolanda D. King Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

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