King Children Fight Over Rights to Letters

[Ivan]

Yall, I just saw this story on Yahoo today and I just had to post it. Unfortunately, the children of Martin and Coretta King are at each other's throats again. But, this time I think Dexter has definitely crossed the line. Check this out.........................

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories//2008/10/14/mlk_love_letters.html?referrer=search_buy

I can't even imagine wanting to print those type of private letters between my parents.....................especially after their deaths. The more I read about Dexter, the more I start to get the impression that although he says he wants to protect his parents' legacy, he definitely wants to profit from it too.

I think this story is just despicable.

Am I off base......................................................................?

[Brother Tony]

 

[Capler]

Why did you  post more stuff about those idiots Ivan?    This is much worst than another poll.

[Ivan]

Actually because I felt that the thought of someone actually posting their parents love letters..............not to mention those between Martin and Coretta............is one of the most self-serving things a kid could do. And because of that I thought it would be much more interesting reading and discussion than another poll on the political board.

[Jay_Thomas]

Ivan, indeed! I pretty much feel the same way the OTHER King kids feel about it.  I just think some things are sacred and are better left Between Lovers.  BTW, I would LOVE to see a movie/lovestory about Martin and Coretta, just them, with the civil rights struggle as the background, but to put their loveletters UP FOR SALE?      One of the OTHER siblings needs to go upside Dexter's head and knock some sense into that brotha. 

[KFARM]

Isn't that the IDIOT who meet with his fathers killer and said he did not do it.  Every family has one.  What does he do for a living. ?

[Pmist]

I agree the letters are sacred and Dexter is not the only one that had a motive for publishing those letters. Bernice had a deal for those letters also, so lets not just get on him when Bernice deserves some of the blame also.  All of them are guilty of letting this type of thing come out and play out in the public's eye.  You know the media, especially here in Atlanta will be all over this.  On a issue like this, you KNOW where your mother and father stand and you should go by that rather than greed. 

Mama Wildcat tends to believe all of the kids are spoiled anyway.  She believes they are simply riding off their parent's legacy anyway and I do not know if I disagree with Mama Wildcat on that one.

[Jay_Thomas]

Mama Wildcat tends to believe all of the kids are spoiled anyway.  She believes they are simply riding off their parent's legacy anyway and I do not know if I disagree with Mama Wildcat on that one.

I would disagree to a point.  The Late Yolanda King, Rev. Bernice and Marty III were all doing their own thing.

Not really sure WHAT Dexter has been up to all of these years.

[Capler]

I would LOVE to see a movie/lovestory about Martin and Coretta, just them, with the civil rights struggle as the background.

As long as you keep Spike Lee away from this project. I can see it now.....'Coretta Gotta Have It'

[LULions]

King siblings reach settlement
By Ernie Suggs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The children of Coretta and Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday avoided a jury trial and settled their festering legal feud over control of the civil rights icon’s estate.
John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Dexter King (seated) greets Martin Luther King III (center) as sister, Bernice King looks on after arriving in court Monday morning.

Following the order of Fulton County Superior Judge Ural D. Glanville, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King met with their brother, Dexter King, for close to 15 hours Monday to hash out a deal. Judge Glanville announced the settlement after 11:30 p.m.
"The settlement is very positive overall," said Martin Luther King III. "Our objective is to be involved in protecting the legacy."
Under the settlement, a third-party custodian will be brought in temporarily to run King Inc., the corporation that controls the use of their father’s papers, intellectual property and materials. The move effectively pushes aside Dexter King, who now serves as president of King Inc.
“This agreement calls for a custodian to help manage our family business,” said Dexter King. “I am still the president of the corporation, as I am sure there will be a learning curve. But the most important thing is preserving the legacy of our parents.”
Later, outside the Fulton County Courthouse, Bernice and Martin King III said the results of the settlement were positive.
“Our hope is that we move in a direction of all of us being able to move forward in the governance of the corporation,” Bernice King said.
The King siblings spent all day Monday – from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. – locked away working on a deal.
The appointment of a custodian strikes at the heart of what the original lawsuit, filed in July of 2008 was all about – power.
The King children’s feud became public when Bernice, 46, and Martin, 51, field suit against Dexter, 48, charging him with tainting their parents’ legacy through financial mismanagement.
Filed in Fulton County Superior Court, the suit specifically accused Dexter of mishandling funds from King Inc., improperly taking money from the estate of their mother, Coretta Scott King,  and acting unilaterally regarding both parents’ estates without their permission or knowledge.
Bernice and Martin said they were kept in the dark by their brother, who had been installed as the head of King Inc. The board of King Inc. consists only of the three siblings and there has not been a shareholders meeting since before their mother died in 2006.
In that time, Martin and Bernice King said their brother’s refusal to have a board meeting
At the center of the conflict is money and how Dexter managed and spent it. Martin and Bernice have long-contended that they didn’t get a fair split of the $32 million that the siblings got when they sold their father’s papers to the city of Atlanta.
Dexter was also accused of negotiating an $800,000 licensing deal with a foundation that is raising money for a King memorial on the National Mall without their knowledge. There were also book and movie deals that were done without their input.
Dexter countersued and tried to force Bernice to provide love letters between his parents.
Monday's settlement avoided what could have been a lengthy and embarrassing jury trial.
"I think it was a very good agreement,"  Dexter said. "No one wanted to see this go to a full blown trial.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/king-siblings-reach-settlement-161333.html?imw=Y

[y04185]

why didn't martin and coretta have a will that stated what would happen with everything they owned down to their underwear and the hair in their combs and brushes.

[Brother Tony]

 

[Ivan]

Y, I was thinking the same thing.

[Valley Girl]

From what I understood, Bernice was trying to keep the letters secret, not profit from them.

I heard Martin and Bernice in an interview explaining their situation....they seem to be very convincing....

[Capler]

You can have a Will but the estate has to be settled first before anyone gets anything. Creditors come first. Say if the estate has debt and it is felt those letters could help settle it, they could be sold. There are some things you really need to handle before you die, those letters were one. She should have burned them or handed them over to another party. Dexter seems to be doing what MJ lawyers are doing with his estate; making an attempt to grow it's wealth. Maybe he is the business savvy one in all of this? If I were in his shoes and were in charge of the corporation, being that both parents are dead, I would put emotions aside and make business decisions. He right in that, he can control what gets published and what is not. My point here is that if Mama did not like the draft, but the reasons were small (you know how old people can be), them why not go forward with the book after her death. She dead now, so there would be no hurt feelings. Sometimes we let our emotions get in the way of prudent decisions. For example; for years I have always encouraged to make plans for their deaths. The refused saying that it is something they did not want to think about. After many attempts, I threw down the gaunlet and said; 'Ok if y'all do nothing, I'm not going into debt trying to "put you away nicely', -you're going to get the cheapest home going service money can buy and right now that is looking like cremation'.  You now country baptist do not want to hear about being cremated. My point here is to take emotions off the table and do what you have to do. Once they are dead........