(Monday, January 22, 2024) – Dexter King, the youngest son of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King has died at the age of 62.

The announcement came today from the King Center in Atlanta, which reported that Dexter King died peacefully in his sleep at his Malibu home. The statement from his wife, Leah Weber King, said Dexter King had been battling prostate cancer.

Dexter King was the 3rd of the King’s four children. He was Chair of the King Center in Atlanta. Reaction to his death has been pouring in. His sister, the Reverend Bernice A. King, said in a statement, “words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling. 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.”