Greene County Democrat

Tag: Dexter Scott King

  • Newswire :US Justice Department releases files on the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    By: Blackmansstreettoday.com


    The U.S. Justice Department recently released on July 21 files regarding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., despite some members of the King family opposing the release, though one family member supports it.
    The release contains 230,000 pages of documents and comes following President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14176, said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
    Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, while staying at the Lorraine Motel. 
    He was shot by James Earl Ray, a petty criminal. Ray was arrested in London, but not everyone is convinced that he was the assassin.
    Before he died of prostate cancer, Dexter Scott King, Dr. King’s youngest son, met with Ray in prison, shook his hand, and concluded that Ray did not kill his father. Dexter King died on January 22. He was 62 years old,
    J. Edgar Hoover hated Dr. King, believing that he would become a Black messiah. Organized crime figures also may have had a hand in his assassination. There are also suggestions that Carlos Marcello, the mob boss of New Orleans, was involved in the killing of Dr. King because he was challenging the way things had been done in the past.
    The FBI tapped Dr. King’s phone calls and even had people working for Dr. King who reported to the FBI. The FBI showed photographs to President Lyndon B. Johnson and other government officials of Dr. King having sex with other women, not his wife, Coretta Scott King.
    The release by the Trump administration is controversial. It comes after AG Bondi refused to release the Epstein files. Some observers feel this document release is part of efforts to divert public attention from the Epstein files.
    “We recognize that the release of documents concerning the assassination of our father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has long been a subject of interest, captivating public curiosity for decades,” the family said in a statement. But “the release of these files must be viewed within their full historical context. During our father’s lifetime, he was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
    The recent disclosure is the product of months of collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DOJ attorneys spent hundreds of hours preparing and digitizing these documents for release.
    “The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice is proud to partner with Director Gabbard and the ODNI at President Trump’s direction for this latest disclosure.”

  • Newswire : Dexter Scott King, champion of civil rights and son of MLK Jr., succumbs to prostate cancer at 62

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 62. The King Center, along with statements from the family, confirmed Dexter’s death on Monday, January 22, just one week after the nation observed his father’s holiday. King’s family said he died after a valiant battle against prostate cancer.
    Family members claimed that King, a tenacious civil rights activist in his own right, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his Malibu home while spending time with his loved ones. Leah Weber King, Dexter’s wife since 2013, shared the news through a statement from the King Center. “He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu,” she said. “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.”
    Martin Luther King III, Dexter’s older brother, also expressed deep sorrow, urging everyone to keep the entire King family, especially Dexter’s wife, Leah Weber, in their thoughts and prayers.
    Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, later shared his condolences. “I am heartbroken to hear that Dexter King left us this morning, but I was comforted by the knowledge that he is reunited with his parents and sister,” Sharpton stated.
    Dexter’s mother, Coretta Scott King, died in 2006, and his sister, Yolanda Denise King, died in 2007. Dexter, born on January 30, 1961, carried his father’s legacy forward. According to a King Center bio, he attended Morehouse College, majoring in business administration, and in 2005, he took on the roles of chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the King Center.
    Dexter’s vision for his father’s legacy was clear: to educate the public about and perpetuate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of nonviolence globally. Beyond his activism, Dexter made significant contributions to media and entertainment. He starred in and produced films, records, and television specials focused on the civil rights movement. His animated movie, “Our Friend Martin,” received an Emmy Award nomination, and he authored the intimate memoir “Growing Up King” in 2003.
    Recognized as one of Ebony magazine’s “100 Most Influential Black Americans,” Dexter Scott King worked along with his family to keep his parents’ legacy alive.
    “On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, we pause to mourn and to celebrate the life of Dexter King, who in his own way strived to exemplify the outstanding legacy of his father, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., a civil rights legend who worked under Dr. King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “We express our sympathy to the King family, and we rededicate the Black Press to keep Dr. King’s dream alive, not only for all Americans but for people throughout the world