Martin Luther King, III And Bernice King Respond To Recently Filed Suit Against Brother Dexter

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 19, 2008 – Atlanta, GA - USA  -  As heirs of a great American legacy, we live our lives in constant view of the public eye.  Like any family, there are times when we disagree.  Over the past several years, a stark difference has emerged between our brother and us regarding what is in the best interest of the King Legacy.  That difference has found its way into the management and stewardship over King Inc.

Our brother has made some very strong claims of estrangement and derailment.  Clearly such claims are very disappointing.  It is unfortunate that our brother continues to use the media to attack our character and expose personal business transactions.  In spite of these efforts, we will remain on the high road and approach this difficult matter with dignity and respect.  We do this knowing that in Kingian nonviolence, "nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice and not people."

We love our brother, yet we cannot ignore our responsibility to ensure that the corporation we are all shareholders and directors of, is properly managed.  Our right to obtain corporate documents that we have personally requested in the past few years, and more recently in the lawsuit that we have filed, have been continuously ignored.  Duty obligates us to preserve and protect the corporation and the legacy from arbitrary, singular, and seemingly self-serving decision-making.

We invite our brother to refrain from using the media to air his grievances with the lawsuit.  Instead of avoiding being served, we hope that he will respond to the lawsuit, to the court, and to us with answers.  Our brother's decision to continue to avoid what is at the heart of the lawsuit – as well as his history of avoiding and evading our request for information for which we are rightfully entitled to -- has created an atmosphere of estrangement.  This behavior which he has chosen to exhibit time and again is what has ultimately forced these matters to be resolved in a court of law.

There is never a good time to have very private family matters aired in the public arena.  To the extent possible, we have sought and will continue to seek to avoid a public spectacle.  While the Legacy belongs to all Americans, some hold us to a unique standard.  We cannot be held to the moral ideals of the Legacy, but denied its process.  The steps to conflict resolution include the direct action we have been forced to take only after seeking a resolution for many years through more private negotiations.  It is our prayer that the media and the public will allow us to proceed in a manner that respects our privacy and honors the process of conflict resolution embodied in The King legacy.