Dexter Scott King, the youngest son and the third child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has died. He was 62.

King died on Monday from prostate cancer, a disease that affects a large number of Black men, but it is not clear why.

“He died in his sleep at home in Malibu,” says his wife of 11 years, Leah Weber King. “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 said.



He was born in Atlanta on January 30, 1961, and he was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served his first pastorate. 

He was the second-born son of Dr. King and Mrs. King. Dexter King died on January 22, a few days after his father was celebrated nationally on January 15.

Dexter King was only seven years old when his father was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. 

He met with Ray and believed Ray’s claim that he was not involved in the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.

His mother, Coretta Scott King, died from a stroke and ovarian cancer on January 30, 2006.

He graduated from Frederick Douglas High School, played football, and participated in many other school organizations. He then followed in his father’s footsteps attending Morehouse College in Atlanta. He moved to California to become an actor, starring in “The Rosa Parks Story” as his father.

One in four Black men suffers from prostate cancer, which is caused by an enlarged prostate. Only one in eight men of other races suffer at a high level from prostate cancer. 

Many men aged 50 or over have an enlarged prostate, but they don’t all have symptoms. And some men have symptoms that don’t bother them.

Your body’s balance of hormones (estrogen and testosterone) changes as you age. This may cause your prostate to grow.

Recently, the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, III, and Kareem Abdul Jabber, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, said they are suffering from prostate cancer. 

His sister, Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center, stated, “Words cannot express the heartbreak I feel from losing another sibling. I’m praying for strength to get through this very difficult time”. 

His brother Martin Luther King, III added, ‘‘the sudden shock is devastating. It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers for the entire King family now.”