The Kings’ youngest son, Dexter Scott King died Jan. 22 of prostate cancer, just eight days shy of his 63rd birthday.
Naomi King, the wife of King’s younger brother A.D., died in March at age 92.
Angela Farris Watkins, the daughter of Christine King Farris, said the family has had to remain strong during what has been an unprecedented year of mourning. She said that her grandfather, the legendary Martin Luther “Daddy” King Sr., often told his family — in the wake of tragedy — to “Thank God for what you have left.”
“And he would say that to himself every time he lost another loved one,” Watkins said. “By that, he meant that we still have loved ones remaining who can provide support and love you. People that you can embrace. So all is not lost.”
King, who won a Nobel Peace Prize and led the March on Washington, was gunned down on April 4, 1968. He was in Memphis advocating for sanitation workers.
April 4 has been a symbolically significant day ever since.
At 11:15 a.m. Thursday, the King family, led by Rev. Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, will continue their solemn annual tradition of placing a wreath at the crypt where Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are interred. Coretta Scott King died in 2006.
Watkins said the King family uses the ceremony to begin introducing new faces and generations of the family.
“We are preparing the next generation,” Watkins said. “Making sure they understand the importance of these commemorations and ceremonies and take an active part in them. And all of us, despite our losses, are still determined to keep things moving to uphold our family legacy of love, nonviolence and social justice. We are clear on that.”
The King Family Wreath Laying Ceremony and Community Service Project at the King Center is one of several observances of King’s assassination that will take place throughout the week.
Other events, spearheaded by The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, include:
At 5:30 p.m….
Read the full article here
