King’s family and estate have sent numerous cease-and-desist letters to stop various uses of King’s written work and image, and followed up with court action if they weren’t satisfied with the results. Last year, they sued Andrew Young, a King confidante who helped their father coordinate civil rights efforts throughout the South, over footage of King that shows up in a series produced by Young’s foundation. That lawsuit is still pending.
In 1987, Coretta Scott King sued Boston University and lost over papers her husband had given to the school where he earned his doctorate. In 2011, the estate filed a federal lawsuit in Jackson, Miss., against the son of Maude Ballou, who was King’s secretary in the late 1950s, over documents including letters from King. They lost, and those documents were put up for auction by Ballou.
The three surviving King children – eldest sibling Yolanda died in 2007 – have also sued each other. In 2008, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III sued Dexter King, accusing him of acting improperly as head of their father’s estate. The three reached a settlement in October 2009.
The three King children are currently fighting in court over possession of King’s Nobel Peace Prize medal and one of his Bibles. The slain civil rights icon’s estate, controlled by his sons, is locked in a legal dispute with Bernice King over ownership of the items. The Martin Luther King Jr. Estate Inc., which is run by Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King, wants to sell the items, while Bernice is opposed to the sale.
The Bible and peace prize medal are being held in a safe deposit box controlled by the court pending the outcome of the dispute.
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