Bernice King: Difference between revisions

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'''Bernice Albertine King''' (born March 28, 1963) is an American [[inactive lawyer]], [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]], and the youngest child of [[civil rights]] leaders [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Coretta Scott King]].<ref>See, [[David Garrow|Garrow, David J.]], ''Bearing the Cross'',(New York: William Morrow & Co., 1986), p. 236</ref> She was five years old when her father [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|died]] in 1968. In her adolescence, King chose to work towards becoming a minister after having a breakdown from watching a documentary about her father. King was 17 when she was invited to speak at the [[United Nations]]. Twenty years after her father was assassinated, she preached her trial sermon, inspired by her parents' activism.
 
Her mother had a stroke in 2005 and, after she died the following year, King delivered the eulogy at her funeral. A turning point in her life, King experienced conflict within her family when her sister [[Yolanda King|Yolanda]] and brother [[Dexter Scott King|Dexter]] supported the sale of the [[King Center for Nonviolent Social Change]]. After her sister died in 2007, she delivered the eulogy for her as well. She supported the [[Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign|presidential campaign of]] [[Barack Obama]] in 2008 and called his nomination part of her father's dream.
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Bernice Albertine King was born on March 28, 1963, in [[Atlanta]], Georgia. The day after she was born, her father had to leave for [[Birmingham, Alabama]], but he rushed back when it was time for Bernice and her mother, Coretta, to leave the hospital. He drove them home himself but, in what was all too typical with the work he was doing, had to leave them again within hours.<ref>McPherson, p. 56.</ref> Following her birth, [[Harry Belafonte]] realized the toll the Civil Rights Movement was taking on her mother's time and energy and offered to pay for a nurse to help Coretta with the Kings' four children. They accepted and hired a person that would help with the children for the next five or six years.<ref>Bagley, p. 256.</ref> Her father died a week after Bernice's fifth birthday.<ref>Bagley, p. 238.</ref>
 
Once, she and her sister Yolanda thought it would be funny to pour water into their father's ear while he was sleeping. Their father, though, was furious. It was the first and only time he would ever spank them.<ref>{{cite news|title=To Her, Rev. King Was Simply Dad|url=httphttps://articleswww.chicagotribune.com/1985-/01-/14/news/8501030510_1_revto-kingher-yolandarev-king-nonviolentwas-socialsimply-changedad/|date=January 14, 1985|publisher=Chicago Tribune|first=Roger|last=Simon}}</ref>
 
Later on, Coretta told Bernice that her father had celebrated her fifth birthday, knowledge that has been special to her since.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues-jan-june97-king_1-15/|title=A Conversation with Rev. Bernice King|publisher=PBS NewsHour|date=January 15, 1997|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228232840/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues-jan-june97-king_1-15/|url-status=dead}}</ref> King said she has only two strong memories of her father, one of him at home with their family and the other of him lying in the casket at his funeral. "I don't let people know this, but I think of my father constantly," King said at age 19. "Even though I knew him so little, he left me so much."<ref name=Alongwaytogo>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19830110&id=Es4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=5090,2669085|date=January 10, 1983|publisher=The Miami News|title=Bernice King: A long way to go}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> When her father was assassinated in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], Bernice was asleep. When she woke up, her mother told her that the next time she saw her father would be at his funeral.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/25/us/bernice-king-profile/|title=Moving out of the dreamer's shadow: A King daughter's long journey| date=August 25, 2013| publisher=CNN}}</ref> In the April 1998 issue of ''BET Entertainment Weekly'', King reflected, "I was five when my father was assassinated, so I had no concept of who my father really was. I have been told, but imagine trying to really understand or put it in its proper perspective at that age. When it finally became clear to me around fifteen or sixteen, I was angry at him because he left me. So I didn't want to have anything to do with my father."<ref>Barras, p. 136.</ref>
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At the age of 19, she made her first major [[speech]] in Chicago and stated that "We've come a long way. But we have a long way to go."<ref name=Alongwaytogo /> In early 1983, King gave a speech at St. Sabina Church in Chicago. Many members of the audience said that she reminded them of her father.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQy2ClzoHYkC&q=bernice+king+1983|title=Whatever Happened to...Bernice King|date=October 1983|publisher=Ebony}}</ref> King attended [[Grinnell College]] in [[Iowa]], and graduated from [[Spelman College]], a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]] in Atlanta, with a degree in [[psychology]] in 1985.<ref name="auto">Jabari Simama, [https://www.atlantamagazine.com/history/bernice-king-carrying-mlk-legacy/ The Quiet Storm: Bernice King], atlantamagazine.com, USA, October 1, 1997</ref> King says she had thoughts of [[suicide]] before "God intervened."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/25/us/bernice-king-profile/ | work=CNN | title=Moving out of the dreamer's shadow: A King daughter's long journey - CNN.com | date=August 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues-jan-june97-king_1-15/|title=A Conversation with Rev. Bernice King &#124; Video &#124; PBS NewsHour &#124; PBS|website=[[PBS]] |date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228232840/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues-jan-june97-king_1-15/|archive-date=2014-02-28}}</ref>
 
King was arrested with her mother Coretta and her brother Martin Luther King III on June 26, 1985, with the offense of [[Demonstration (protest)|demonstrating]] in front of an embassy. They were participating in [[Internal resistance to South African apartheid|anti-apartheid]] demonstration in front of the South African Embassy. The three stayed in jail overnight.<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-27/news/-mn-10768_1_bernice10768-kingstory.html| title=King's Widow Arrested in Apartheid Protest| date=June 27, 1985 | work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> The youngest daughter of Martin Luther King, his widow and his eldest son were charged with a [[misdemeanor]], demonstrating within 500 feet of an embassy.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.chicagotribune.com/1985-/06-/28/news/8502110736_1_coretta-scottcoretta-king-bernicejailed-kingin-martins-lutherafrica-king-iiiprotest/|title=Coretta King Jailed In S. Africa Protest|date=June 28, 1985|publisher=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
On January 7, 1986, King was arrested with her sister [[Yolanda King|Yolanda]] and her brother Martin Luther King III for "disorderly conduct." Bernice and her siblings were arrested by officers deployed to the [[Winn Dixie]] supermarket. The supermarket had been subject to protest since September 1985, which was when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference began boycotts of South African canned fruit. It was the first time Bernice and her siblings had been arrested together at a protest.<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://articleswww.chicagotribune.com/1986-/01-/08/news/8601020801_1_martinchildren-lutherof-king-iii-winn-dixie-south-africaarrested/| title=Children Of King Arrested| newspaper=Chicago Tribune News| date=January 8, 1986}}</ref> On January 15, 1987, what would have been her father's 58th birthday, King spoke in Chicago and told denizens to stay away from drugs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3805698.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611091446/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3805698.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|title='The dream will survive' // Daughter helps city mark King birthday|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=January 16, 1987}}</ref>
 
At the age of 24, Bernice decided to become a minister, and she earned a [[Master's degree]] in [[Divinity]] ([[MDiv]]) and a [[juris doctor]] from [[Emory University]] in 1990, though it is universally unusual for lawyers to refer to themselves as "Doctors" (especially those, like her, who are not allowed to practice law by the Georgia State Bar). Generally those who have attained a Juris Doctor degree only refer to themselves as "Doctors" merely for the personal prestige of doing so. However, <ref name="auto"/> King is alsoan ainactive member of the [[State Bar of Georgia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gabar.org/MemberSearchDetail.cfm?ID=8794&ID=8794|title=Member Directory Search|website=Gabar.org|access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref>
 
=== Ministry ===
On May 14, 1990, King became the second woman to be ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church. She said that it was "the most humbling moment for me in my life."<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-15/news/-vw-409_1_bernice409-kingstory.html|title=NAMES IN THE NEWS : Daughter Takes King's Pulpit|date=May 15, 1990|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> King insisted that she was "not worthy of this high calling. No blood, no sweat, no tears could earn me this high calling." On January 18, 1992, President [[George H. W. Bush]] visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. King spoke during his visit of the problems of [[racism]], [[poverty]] and [[violence]] remained in America since her father was alive but did not directly align with any of the issues with President Bush.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/18/us/the-1992-campaign-republicans-president-joins-king-observance.html|title=THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Republicans; PRESIDENT JOINS KING OBSERVANCE (Published 1992)|first=Robin|last=Toner|work=The New York Times |date=January 18, 1992|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>
 
In January 1994, King voiced her opposition to [[New Hampshire]]'s refusal to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, calling the decision "racist and separatist."<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/1994-/01-/25/news/9401250477_1_newkings-hampshiredaughter-bernicerefusal-kingto-name-holiday-racist/|title=King's Daughter: Refusal To Name Holiday 'Racist'|date=January 25, 1994|publisher=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref> On May 21, 1994, she attended the African-American Women's Conference where she said that parents should not let their children listen to "[[gangster rap]]" because of messages in the lyrics.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=The Post and Courier|date=May 22, 1994|title=Bernice King speaks at women's conference|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2482&dat=19940522&id=1VpSAAAAIBAJ&pg=5707,2014443}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
In 1996, King published a collection of her [[sermon]]s and speeches called ''Hard Questions, Heart Answers''.<ref>''Hard Questions, Heart Answers'', {{ISBN|978-0767900379}}</ref> In 2000, she narrated a performance of [[Aaron Copland]]'s ''[[Lincoln Portrait]]'' at the [[Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival]] in [[Kiel]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]], [[Germany]]. In January of that year, King joined [[Fred Shuttlesworth]] in headlining a two-week campus celebration of her father's life at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.stanford.edu/news/2000/january5/mlking-15.html|title=Bernice King to headline two-week-long MLK celebration|first=Diane|last=Manuel|date=January 5, 2000|publisher=Stanford}}</ref>
 
She was an [[Elder (religious)|elder]] at [[New Birth Missionary Baptist Church]] but resigned in May 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/28071242/detail.html |title=Bernice King Departs Eddie Long's Mega Church |website=Wsbtv.com |access-date=2012-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904033227/http://www.wsbtv.com/news/28071242/detail.html |archive-date=2011-09-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> King joined the church in 2002 and came to regard Bishop [[Eddie Long]] as her [[mentor]] and spiritual father. The church was the setting for her mother's funeral. Despite her leaving of the church coinciding with Bishop Eddie Long's settlement agreement in sexual misconduct lawsuits he had fought since September 2010, King said that she had planned to leave New Birth Missionary Baptist Church for weeks. "It has nothing to do with anything that's going on with Bishop Long," King said on May 25, 2011. "I always knew I would not be at New Birth forever. This is the time for me to leave."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/31/bernice-king-eddie-long_n_869378.html|title=Bernice King Leaving Eddie Long's Atlanta Megachurch|publisher=Huffington Post|date=May 31, 2011}}</ref> On May 25, 2011, King told an interviewer that her last time serving as a member of the church was the past Sunday.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/31/bernice-king-leaving-bishop-longs-megachurch/|title=Bernice King leaving Bishop Long's megachurch|date=May 31, 2011|publisher=Fox News}}</ref> She has said her decision to leave was because of her desire to continue the legacy of her parents, which had grown stronger since the death of her mother.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/31/apmegachurch-newsbreakfounder-long-says-bernice-king-leaving-megachurch/|title=Megachurch founder Long says Bernice King leaving|publisher=Fox News|date=May 31, 2011}}</ref> At the time that she chose to leave the church, she planned on starting her own ministry.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/14770729/bernice-king-leaving-eddie-longs-church|publisher=CBS46 News|date=May 31, 2011|title=Bernice King leaving Eddie Long's church|access-date=March 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331070223/http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/14770729/bernice-king-leaving-eddie-longs-church|archive-date=March 31, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://atlantadailyworld.com/2012/08/31/explained-bernice-king-says-she-left-longs-church-because/|date=August 31, 2012|title=Explained! Bernice King Says She Left Long's Church Because...|publisher=Atlanta Daily World}}</ref>
 
King said her mother heard [[2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address|Obama's speech]] at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] and contacted her the following day over the senator's address, expressing her belief in Obama's political future.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46eupsa0Ahw "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTIN! MLK's Daughter Moved to Tears"]. [[YouTube]]. January 15, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2014.</ref> In June 2006, King told a teenage audience that she intended to do more to carry on the legacy of [[nonviolence]] espoused by her parents during the 20th annual 100 Black Men of America conference in Atlanta. "My desire is not to be a hypocrite," King said. "I want to make sure my life is not a contradiction when I take a platform."<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2006archives/la-xpm-2006-jun/-11/nation/-na-briefs11.3-story.html|title=King Daughter Vows Advocacy of Nonviolence|date=June 11, 2006|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
On January 30, 2007, one year after the death of her mother Coretta, King founded the Be A King Scholarship at Spelman College, her [[alma mater]], in honor of her mother's legacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spelman.edu/admissions/financial-aid/scholarships/for-current-students/be-a-king-scholarship|title=Be A King Scholarship - Spelman College|website=Spelman.edu|access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref> On June 10, 2007, King acted as a presenter at the 2007 Atlanta H.U.F. Awards. [[Afeni Shakur]] said she was happy to have King and the other presenters "participating" that year.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tupac-online.com/news/0-262604-00.html|title=Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation Adds Presenters To Awards|date=May 9, 2007|publisher=Rap News Network|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=August 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818231700/http://www.tupac-online.com/News/0-262604-00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
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===Public speaking===
King was the [[keynote speaker]] at the [[Seminole County, Florida|Seminole County]] Prayer Breakfast in February 1998. Geoff Koach, spokesman for Strang Communications, said prior to the breakfast that there was an expectation to see "a lot more people of color there" and another reason for her being chosen to speak was to quell racial tensions in the county. He added: "We felt she could help unify citizens, the various organizations, government and church officials."<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/1998-/02-/15/news/9802140882_1_bernicerev-bernice-king-prayerwill-breakfastspeak-at-seminole-prayer-breakfast/|title=Rev. Bernice King Will Speak At Seminole Prayer Breakfast|date=February 15, 1998|first=Maria|last=Orem|publisher=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref>
In June 2006, five months after her mother's death, King made it known to a number of teenagers during the panel discussion at the 20th annual [[100 Black Men of America]] conference in Atlanta that she intended to continue the legacy of nonviolence that had been attributed to her parents.<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2006archives/la-xpm-2006-jun/-11/nation/-na-briefs11.3-story.html| title=King Daughter Vows Advocacy of Nonviolence| date=June 11, 2006 | work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> That same year, King and her brother Martin Luther King III expressed interest in creating a civil rights museum near Ebenezer Baptist Church and the King Center, where both of their parents are buried.<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2006archives/la-xpm-2006-nov/-05/nation/-na-briefs5.3-story.html| title=King children want museum by grave| date=November 5, 2006| work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
 
On January 20, 2009, she joined her brother Martin Luther King III on [[CNN]]'s ''[[The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer|The Situation Room]]'' to discuss the inauguration of the 44th [[President of the United States]], [[Barack Obama]].
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On July 7, 2009, King spoke alongside her brother Martin at the [[Staples Center]] in [[Los Angeles]] at a ceremony commemorating the life of [[Michael Jackson]].
 
On October 16, 2011, King mentioned at the [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial]] opening that the memorial had been in the making for a lengthy amount of time and a "priority" for her mother.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204479504576634804200092110| title=Thousands Gather for MLK Memorial Dedication| date=October 16, 2011| access-date=2013-11-17| publisher=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> She and her brother Martin supported [[Occupy Wall Street]] protests.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/17/nation/la-na-king-memorial-20111017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020055859/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/17/nation/la-na-king-memorial-20111017| url-status=dead| archive-date=October 20, 2011| title=A memorial fit for a King| date=October 17, 2011| first=Alexa| last=Vaughn| work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> On January 13, 2012, King was the keynote speaker at the 24th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr. Bernice King provokes Maryland to shift beyond "I Have a Dream"|date=January 16, 2012|website=Examiner.com}}</ref> On March 29, 2012, a month after the shooting death of teenager [[Trayvon Martin]], King released a statement through the King Center. In her remarks, she referred back to the deaths of her father and paternal grandmother, who like Trayvon Martin, were killed by firearms. She concluded her statement by saying we "are still on the journey to the Mountaintop. Join me on the journey as we pray for Trayvon's family, the community of Sanford and all who are in danger of being victims of violence."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thekingcenter.org/news/2012-04-statement-slaying-trayvon-martin-king-center-ceo-bernice-king|title=Statement on Slaying of Trayvon Martin by King Center CEO Bernice A. King|publisher=The King Center|date=March 29, 2012|access-date=March 31, 2014|archive-date=April 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429143303/http://www.thekingcenter.org/news/2012-04-statement-slaying-trayvon-martin-king-center-ceo-bernice-king|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
She made a public statement with regard to the [[State of Florida v. George Zimmerman]] verdict on July 15, 2013, via a [[CNN]] appearance with [[Wolf Blitzer]]. She clarified a tweet she had posted on [[Twitter]], and explained that the handling of the [[verdict]] would "determine how much progress we've made".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scaFM5okdeM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/scaFM5okdeM |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live| title=Bernice King: "We are not at a post-racial society"| date=July 15, 2013| access-date=2013-11-17}}{{cbignore}}</ref> She spoke at a [[town hall meeting]] dedicated to [[Trayvon Martin]]<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfJJzUmHa68 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627102732/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfJJzUmHa68 |archive-date=2014-06-27 |url-status=dead| title=Bernice King speaks at Trayvon Martin town hall meeting| date=July 18, 2013| access-date=2013-11-17}}</ref> and has admitted to having been "heartbroken" by the verdict.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJnyvAMRfnI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627102711/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJnyvAMRfnI |archive-date=2014-06-27 |url-status=dead| title=Bernice King on Zimmerman: Lives of certain Americans cost less than others| date=October 14, 2013}}</ref> She said Trayvon Martin's death and [[George Zimmerman|Zimmerman]]'s [[acquittal]] were a wake-up call for Americans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/22870605/mlks-daughter-says-trayvon-martins-death-a-wake-up-call|date=July 17, 2013|publisher=CBS46 News|title=MLK's daughter says Trayvon Martin's death 'a wake-up call'|first=Sonia|last=Moghe|access-date=March 31, 2014|archive-date=March 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331070256/http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/22870605/mlks-daughter-says-trayvon-martins-death-a-wake-up-call|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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===March against same-sex marriage===
On December 11, 2004, King participated in a [[demonstration (protest)|march]] against [[same-sex marriage]] in Atlanta. This action was in contrast to the advocacy of her mother, Coretta, and her older sister Yolanda, both longtime, outspoken supporters of [[gay rights]]. She was joined by senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church [[Eddie Long]], who said in a written statement that the march was not "to protest same-sex marriage, but to present a unified version of righteousness and justice."<ref name=SFGate>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Atlanta-legacy-march-troubles-rights-leaders-2665064.php|title=Atlanta 'legacy' march troubles rights leaders / King's daughter in anti-gay marriage protest|publisher=SFGate|date=December 11, 2004|last=Barry|first=Ellen}}</ref> At the time of the march, King said she had become a "spiritual daughter" of Eddie Long and the issue of same-sex marriage legalization had left many divided. "The question is, how do you overcome that pain?" she said. "It may be the wedge that stays with us for a long time. We have to get to a place where it does not become the most defining issue of our time."<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2004archives/la-xpm-2004-dec/-11/nation/-na-march11-story.html|title=March Clouded by Stand on Gay Unions|date=December 11, 2004|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Ellen|last=Barry}}</ref>
 
She incorporated the King Center and the [[eternal flame]] at her father's tomb into the march. The King Center denied her permission to begin the march at her father's tomb and accused her of doing so to "provide support for her own personal cause" and "to enhance her personal standing in New Birth."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=20080820&id=48InAAAAIBAJ&pg=4912,2286039|date=August 20, 2008|publisher=The Tuscaloosa News|title=King children sued over community center}}</ref> The event was also criticized by [[gay rights]] organizations, which stated it betrayed the legacy of her father. Chuck Bowen, a spokesman for [[Georgia Equality]], stated that he was surprised to learn of the march. "I think it's very sad," Bowen said. "I think she's abusing the good name of Dr. King and the work he did creating equality for all Americans."<ref name=SFGate />
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Bernice King and Martin also opposed the giving up of photographs, personal letters and papers of their mother to a [[biographer]]. Their brother Dexter asked a judge to force them to comply. The biographer, Ms. Reynolds, met Coretta Scott King in 1972 and said that the widow had asked for her to write a follow-up to her 1969 memoir. King and her brother's lawyer stated that their mother had changed her mind about the biography citing Mrs. King's apparent disapproval of Reynolds's writing style. A judge ordered the Kings to appear in court on October 14, 2008. David J. Garrow, biographer of King's father, said that it was "sad and pathetic to see the three of them behaving in this self-destructive way."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/books/14bio.html|title=Dr. King's Children Battling Over Book|date=October 13, 2008|publisher=New York Post|first=Robbie|last=Brown}}</ref>
 
By September 2009, the book deal was [[wikt:Defunct|defunct]] and a judge ordered the three siblings to have a meeting.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.orlandosentinel.com/2009-/09-/15/news/0909190073_1_corettakings-scottkids-lutherordered-kingto-dexter-kingtalk/|title=King's kids ordered to talk|date=September 15, 2009|publisher=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref> On September 14, King and her brother Martin sat through court motions, [[testimony]] and [[proceedings]] for more than 13 hours. In a separate hearing, Dexter Scott King's attorney Lin Wood argued that Bernice King willingly ignored a [[court order]]. He reasoned this because Bernice did not reveal the contents of the [[safe deposit box]].<ref name=Ignore />
 
Wood also said King's brother Martin and one of Bernice's lawyers, who was no longer on the case, was aware of the letters and refused to reveal them. Bernice's attorney Charles Mathis said she "did not conceal anything" and said "She thought she was doing what she was supposed to do when she told her first lawyer. There was not an intentional failure to disclose."<ref name=Ignore>{{cite news|title=Bernice King knew where Coretta's love letter was|first=Ernie|last=Suggs|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=September 14, 2009|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/bernice-king-knew-where-corettas-love-letter-was/nQSM4/}}</ref>
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On March 14, 2014, Ron Gaither, one of Bernice King's lawyers, argued that William Hill, lawyer of Martin Luther King III and Dexter King, should not have any role in the case because of his involvement in the 2008 dispute between the King children.<ref name=Lawyer>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/14/bernice-king-martin-luther-king/6433719/|title=Lawyers for MLK's daughter want estate lawyers out|date=March 14, 2014|publisher=USA Today}}</ref> A judge appointed Hill as Special Master in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/24982300/bernice-king-wants-the-attorney-representing-her-brothers-thrown-off-case|title=Bernice King wants the attorney representing her brothers thrown off case|first=Tony|last=McNary|date=March 14, 2014|publisher=CBS46 News|access-date=March 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315101027/http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/24982300/bernice-king-wants-the-attorney-representing-her-brothers-thrown-off-case|archive-date=March 15, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lawyers of Bernice King in a court hearing said that "Hill played a vital and substantial role in adjudicating a multitude of disputes that arose between the parties." The lawyers argued that this gave Hill an advantage while putting Bernice at a disadvantage. Hill's defense of himself was that he only had access to documents related to Coretta Scott King's estate and that Bernice King's lawyers were using a stalling tactic by trying to disqualify him. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney stated that he would soon issue a ruling on whether Hill would be disqualified.<ref name=Lawyer />
 
McBurney granted Bernice King's lawyers request and disqualified Hill.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/07/judge-disqualifies-martin-luther-king-jr-estate-lawyer-legal-case_n_5105966.html?ir=Black+Voices|title=Judge Disqualifies Martin Luther King Jr.'s Estate Lawyer From Nobel Peace Prize Case|date=April 7, 2014|publisher=Huffington Post|first=Brennan|last=Williams}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/nation/254187781.html|date=April 7, 2014|title=Judge disqualifies Martin Luther King Jr. estate's lawyer from dispute over Bible, peace prize|publisher=Star Tribune|access-date=2014-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142043/http://www.startribune.com/nation/254187781.html|archive-date=2014-04-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> A full hearing is scheduled to take place in late September.{{Update inline|date=November 2024|reason=This was in 2014, how did this resolve?}}<ref name=UPI />
 
==Honors and awards==
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*[http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1997/june16/7t7034.html ''Christianity Today'' profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810002118/http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1997/june16/7t7034.html |date=2014-08-10 }}
*[http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/14/EDGEBAB7KB1.DTL ''San Francisco Chronicle'' article on King's anti-gay marriage protest December 14 2004]
*[httphttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/6699763wbna6699763 Associated Press article on gay marriage march published on MSNBC December 11 2004]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5178068,00.html AP article on Southern Christian Leadership Council rebuilding 30 July 2005]
 
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[[Category:Emory University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers]]
[[Category:Family of Martin Luther King familyJr.|Bernice]]
[[Category:Activists from Atlanta]]
[[Category:Spelman College alumni]]