Judge orders mediation in King case regarding Nobel Prize and Bible
The King siblings appear to be getting closer to a settlement over the ownership of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and his traveling bible.
Fulton County Superior Court judge Robert McBurney agreed to a mediation Wednesday during a brief hearing with attorneys from both sides. In January, McBurney signed an order granting the stay in the case so that Bernice King can negotiate a deal with her brothers, Dexter King and Martin Luther King III.
“There has been progress, but we are not all the way there yet,” McBurney said.
McBurney has given both sides until June 30 to find a mediator or submit candidates to the court. Mediation, McBurney said, should be done by Sept. 30.
“There is still some work to be done,” said Eric L. Barnum, an attorney for Bernice King. “But we feel like we have gotten the parties as far as we can get, which is substantial. With a third party-neutral, we can close the gap.
From the outset, the gap appeared to be wide. Brothers Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King were suing sister Bernice King over the ownership of the Nobel Prize and the Bible, which was used and signed by President Obama during his second inauguration.
Bernice King argued that the items were sacred and should remain with the family. The brothers wanted to sell them.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
