DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/12/08
With clucks and tisks all around, people visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site on Saturday reacted to news of the King children's internecine lawsuit involving allegations of mishandled funds and misdeeds.
"I was trying to tell my sister about it, and I said, them kids are fighting over this money and stuff," said Barbara Sims of Little Rock, Ark., while sitting in the shade in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
 Marcus Yam/AJC | ||
| Tourists visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site on Saturday were disappointed by the lawsuit. | ||
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"Money always causes problems."
John Wills of Dallas, Texas, said the children should follow in the steps of their peace-making father.
"I would tell them to forgive and let go," he said.
Bernice and Martin King III filed a lawsuit Thursday against their brother Dexter in Fulton County Superior Court.
It says he mishandled funds and has not shared with them documents from the corporation that deals with the intellectual property rights of their famous father. Dexter is the president the corporation and Bernice and Martin are board members.
It makes money on the sale of books and promotional items and got paid $32 million from Atlanta for a cache of King papers.
The lawsuit says Dexter has taken money for personal use from the corporation, King Inc., and from the estate of their mother Coretta Scott King.
Dexter called the allegations "inappropriate and false."
Some walking around the Auburn Avenue community, the heart of Martin Luther King Jr.'s neighborhood, were disappointed in the news of the suit.
"It's a shame that the legacy is brought into question because the children are not in agreement," said John Harvey Jr. from New Jersey.
"It reminds me of what the scriptures say, to try to remedy a situation without taking it into the courts. Because then it becomes a battle. It's never a good thing," he said.
Court fights never resolve the issues personally, though one side or the other may win, said Harvey's brother-in-law Leon Wright. And what is needed is a family resolution.
"It's unfortunate that it's like that," said Wills of Dallas.
Like Harvey and Wright, he suggested the Kings recall their family ties, their legacy and talk to each other.
"Come to a middle point and agree upon a settlement. Because they are all blood," he said.
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