Martin Luther King Jr.’s children grapple with his legacy

The children of the iconic civil rights leader have been burdened with his legacy, and have weathered their share of family turmoil since his death.

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March 17, 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, sit with three of their four children in their Atlanta home. From left, Martin Luther King III, 5, Dexter Scott, 2, and Yolanda Denise, 7.

/ AP

April 9, 1968

King's family walks in the Atlanta funeral procession of the slain civil rights leader. From left: daughter Yolanda Denise, 12, King's brother A.D. King, daughter Bernice, 5, King’s widow Coretta Scott King, King’s associate Ralph Abernathy and King’s sons Dexter, 7, and Martin Luther King III, 10.

Don Hogan Charles / The New York Times/AP

April 4, 1969

Coretta Scott King visits the grave of her husband in Atlanta in 1969 with her four children.

/ AP

Sept. 6, 1995

The Dalai Lama of Tibet says a prayer at the gravesite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1995, while Coretta Scott King and Dexter King look on.

Leita Cowart / AP

May 24, 2007

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., hugs her brother, Dexter King, left, as her brother Martin Luther King III looks on during a memorial service for their older sister, Yolanda King, in Atlanta. Yolanda King, 51, died on May 15, 2007, in California after she collapsed and could not be revived.

John Bazemore / AP

Aug. 28, 2008

The Rev. Bernice King hugs her brother Martin Luther King III as he comes on stage at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field in Denver.

Chris Carlson / AP

April 4, 2008

Martin Luther King III, left, his wife, Arndrea, and his sister, the Rev. Bernice King, pray at the tomb of their father on the 40th anniversary of his assassination.

John Bazemore / AP

Oct. 18, 2008

Bernice King, left, and Martin Luther King III, right, talk at an interview discussing the lawsuit between the King siblings in Atlanta in 2008.

W.A. Harewood / AP

Feb. 7, 2006

Dexter Scott King hugs a friend at the conclusion of the funeral service for his mother, Coretta Scott King, at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., in 2006.

Jason Reed / AP

Aug. 24, 2011

The Rev. Bernice King is photographed in Washington, D.C.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

June 30, 2011

Martin Luther King III poses for a portrait in Atlanta.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

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