Dexter King, the younger son of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, has died after battling prostate cancer.

Dexter King

The King Center in Atlanta, which Dexter King served as chairperson, said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader died on Monday at his California home after battling prostate cancer. His wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement that he died “peacefully in his sleep”.

Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Alabama where his father once served as pastor, and he was just seven years old when his father was assassinated in 1968. He was the third of the Kings’ four children.

As an adult, Dexter King became an attorney and focused on shepherding his father’s legacy and protecting his family’s intellectual property. In addition to serving as chair of the King Center, he was the King estate’s president.

Coretta Scott King died in 2006, followed by the King’s oldest child, Yolanda King, in 2007.

“Words cannot express the heartbreak I feel from losing another sibling,” Bernice A King, Dexter King’s youngest sibling, said in a statement.

Dexter King’s older brother, Martin Luther King III, said: “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.”

Atlanta’s mayor, Andre Dickens, said he stood with his city “and so many worldwide in grieving the loss of Dexter Scott King”.

“His profound and unwavering love for his family positioned him as a guardian of his father and mother’s legacies,” Dickens said.

Dickens said Dexter King held various titles, including those of Morehouse College graduate, humanitarian, civil rights activist, and even actor.

“However, above all, he was a devoted family man,” said Dickens, who also offered condolences to Dexter King’s various survivors.

Well, 2023 didn’t exactly go to plan, did it?

Here in the UK, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had promised us a government of stability and competence – not forgetting professionalism, integrity, and accountability – after the rollercoaster ride of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Remember Liz? These days she seems like a long-forgotten comedy act. Instead, Sunak took us even further through the looking glass into the Conservative psychodrama. 

Elsewhere, the picture has been no better. In the US, Donald Trump is now many people’s favorite to become president again. In Ukraine, the war has dragged on with no end in sight. The danger of the rest of the world getting battle fatigue and losing interest is all too apparent. Then there is the war in the Middle East and not forgetting the climate crisis …

But a new year brings new hope. There are elections in many countries, including the UK and the US. We have to believe in change. That something better is possible. The Guardian will continue to cover events from all over the world and our reporting now feels especially important. But running a news-gathering organization doesn’t come cheap. 

So this year, I am asking you – if you can afford it – to give money. Well, not to me personally – though you can if you like – but to the Guardian. The average monthly support in Pakistan is around $4, however much you give, all that matters is you’re choosing to support open, independent journalism.

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