Prayers for peaceful end to King sibling feud
Errin Haines/Associated Press
September 29, 2009
The Washington Examiner
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/prayers-for-peaceful-end-to-king-sibling-feud-in-spirit-of-civil-rights-icon-and-his-wife-62745382.html
ATLANTA — A follower of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday invoked the spirit of the civil rights icon and his wife, Coretta, in praying for a peaceful resolution to the legal battle among the King children.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery led dozens of clergy, civil rights veterans and others in prayer, standing in the shadow of the Kings’ crypt and the eternal flame that burns in their honor in Atlanta.
“We know that in glory, where they rest, that their rest is uneasy, that their children are engaged in such a bitter dispute,” Lowery said. “All around the world, the King legacy is known for helping to bring peace where there is war.
They don’t want to do anything to weaken that legacy, to destroy that legacy.”
Martin Luther King III and his sister, the Rev. Bernice King, have sued their brother, Dexter, over their father’s estate, which the three control as a private corporation. On Monday, the siblings held their first shareholder’s meeting since 2004, and are scheduled to meet again on Friday.
The three could be headed to a civil jury trial next month if they do not resolve their differences — a scene that would be unbecoming of their parents, said the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached from 1960 until his death in 1968.
“They taught us how to forgive freely and love unconditionally,” Warnock said of Martin and Coretta King. “We pray that you would speak to the hearts of their children, who are disappointed with each other at this hour. We know that there is not deep disappointment without deep love.”
For years, the King children were the picture of solidarity. Along with their sister, Yolanda, they carried on the legacy of their parents.
A dispute over the future of The King Center in 2005 showed some chinks in the King children’s armor. Bernice and Martin Luther King III, took sides against the others when they opposed its sale, arguing that the deal would compromise the center’s independent voice. Their mother, Coretta Scott King, founded the center shortly after her husband’s death in 1968, and it needed more than $11 million in repairs.
Their relationship became further strained after the deaths of their mother, Coretta, in 2006 and Yolanda in 2007. Last year, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King asked a judge to force Dexter King to open the books of their father’s estate, claiming that he failed to provide them with essential documents, including financial records, and that he has brokered contracts without their knowledge or approval.
Dexter King has also sued Bernice King, who administers her mother’s estate. He has asked a judge to force his sister to turn over Coretta Scott King’s personal papers, including love letters central to a now-defunct $1.4 million book deal.
Throughout the bickering, those close to the Kings during the civil rights movement, like Lowery and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, have attempted to unofficially mediate.
“We pray for them individually and collectively,” Lowery said as the sun set on the crypt.
“There’s no knot that God can’t untie, no hole God can’t fill. This is a family that is dear to us and dear to this nation,” he said. “We’re counting on you, God, and leaving here with the expectation that something good is going to happen and peace will reign.”
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