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The nation mourns the passing of Dexter King, the youngest and third child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. He passed away at age 62 due to prostate cancer Monday, according to an announcement from the King Center.
“He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu,” King’s wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. 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”, she added.
Dexter King’s passing illustrates the health disparities among Black men, regardless of social status, when it comes to prostate cancer. The risk of dying from low-grade prostate cancer is double for Black men compared to other ethnicities, according to a study shared by the National Cancer Institute.
Roughly 1 in 4 Black men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, according to Prostate Cancer UK.
“Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling. I’m praying for strength to get through this very difficult time,” sister and Rev. Bernice King said in a statement.
“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 added.
Dexter King carried the torch his father lit
Born in Atlanta on Jan. 30 1961, King went on to become an author and avid advocate for social justice. Named after his father’s first pastorate, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, King embodied a love for justice passed down from his father.
“You know Mommy, I don’t see how my daddy can do so much, and talk to so many people and not even get tired at all,” little Dexter King once said to his mom after joining one of his father’s speeches, according to an autobiography by Coretta Scott King.
Dexter King attended Morehouse College, his father’s alma mater and published a memoir titled, “Growing Up King” in 2003. He won an Emmy for his animated movie “Our Friend Martin.”
By 2005, he’d become chairman, president and CEO of the King Center, according to the King Institute at Stanford University.
Notably, in 1997, he famously met James Earl Ray and said he didn’t believe Ray was his father’s killer.
After becoming leader of the King Center, which his sister Bernice now leads, Dexter King stated, “Our main goal is to educate the public about, and to perpetuate and promote, my father’s message of nonviolence to people around the world.”