At a Glance
- Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at age 39
- He and Coretta Scott King raised four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice
- Rare family photos show the civil rights icon as a devoted father at home
- Why it matters: These intimate images humanize a towering historical figure
Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as a monumental force in the Civil Rights movement, a masterful speaker whose words still echo. Yet beyond the marches and speeches, he was simply “dad” to his four children. As the nation marks what would have been his 97th birthday, News Of Losangeles shares never-before-seen family photographs that capture the private joy of the King household.
Early Family Life
The Kings welcomed their first child, Yolanda Denise, in 1955. A 1956 photo shows the tiny family-Martin, Coretta and baby Yolanda-relaxing in their modest home. The relaxed moment, lensed by Michael Ochs, freezes a rare pause between protests and pulpit duties.
Daughter Bernice Albertine, now 62, and sons Martin Luther III, 68, and Dexter Scott completed the family. The children often traveled with their parents. One black-and-white frame pictures the young family beside a plane at Idlewild Airport in Queens, New York, preparing to fly to Alabama for a voting-rights campaign.
Moments of Learning and Play
Education filled the King home long before school began. A 1960 frame shot by Donald Uhrbrock shows Martin and Coretta seated at a piano with Yolanda and young Martin III clustered close, tiny fingers on ivory keys. Music, like ministry, was a family language.
The same year, while the world watched sit-ins spread across the South, the Kings found respite in their Atlanta living room. Another Uhrbrock photo catches Coretta balancing Martin III on her lap as Dr. King beams at Yolanda. The image is unstaged, the smiles unguarded.
Facing Hate Together
Not every snapshot carried lightness. One searing frame, captured by a Bettmann photographer, shows Dr. King holding two-year-old Martin III while staring at a charred cross planted in the family’s front yard. The toddler clutches his father’s coat; King’s jaw is set, eyes steady. The photo became an emblem of domestic terror, yet also of paternal protection.
Harassment continued. In 1960 King was jailed for leading boycotts. Upon release he was greeted by Coretta and the children on the steps of Georgia State prison. Bettmann’s lens records Yolanda wrapping her arms around her father’s neck, her small feet dangling above his shoes. The reunion photo radiates relief and resilience.
Public Life, Private Pride
Even at rallies, the children kept watch. In 1966, six-year-old Yolida sits in a Montgomery, Alabama, pew, chin in hands, eyes fixed on her father at the podium. AP photographer Jack Thornell framed the shot so that the child’s gaze mirrors the crowd’s rapt attention, hinting that the movement’s future rested with its youngest witnesses.
Before formal portraits, King fussed over details just like any dad. An AP image shows him straightening the tie of his namesake, Martin III, while Coretta adjusts Bernice’s dress. The scene is ordinary-until one remembers the portrait would be mailed to supporters nationwide, making neat ties part of civil-rights messaging.
Loss and Legacy
Time has thinned the family circle. Coretta died in January 2006. Yolanda followed a year later, passing on May 15, 2007. On Jan. 22, 2024, Dexter’s wife Leah Weber announced that he had succumbed to prostate cancer. Surviving siblings Martin III and Bernice continue to safeguard their father’s papers and public memory.
Key Takeaways
- Ten family photos, spanning 1955-1966, reveal King’s dual identity as activist and affectionate father
- Images show everyday scenes-piano lessons, airport departures, prison reunions-alongside moments of terror like the burnt cross
- The collection humanizes an icon, reminding viewers that history’s giants also packed school lunches and tied tiny shoes
