Bernice A. King has been named chief executive officer of The King Center.
The move was announced Monday by the Atlanta-based King Center, which was established to promote and preserve the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968.
Dexter Scott King continues to serve as chairman of the board and Martin Luther King III remains as president of the center, which was founded by their mother, Coretta Scott King after her husband's death. According to the center's website, Martin King III, the oldest son of King, held the CEO post until this action.
The center said in a statement that the move will "strengthen the office of the president to more effectively address external affairs on behalf of the King Center and enable the office of the chief executive officer to more efficiently focus on the King Center’s internal administrative matters."
The change comes as the nation prepares to celebrate the birthday of the noted civil rights leader.
Last year, Bernice King, 48, stepped down as an elder at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia and said then she wanted to pursue the calling God had for her life. Her departure came shortly after New Birth's Bishop Eddie Long settled lawsuits stemming from claims of sexual misconduct.
Earlier, King, who is also founder and president Be A King Enterprises, had nixed becoming president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization her father co-founded.
Over the years, the King siblings have been mired in legal conflicts with each other over the handling of their parent's legacy. This moves gives Bernice King more say over the day-to-day operations of the King Center.
"Individuals have different strengths," said Bernard LaFayette Jr., a longtime civil rights figure and a Distinguished Senior Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. "I have seen Bernice operate within her own organization and apparently she has been very effective at getting the people she needs to operate and function... I would think the decision they made is going to strengthen the King Center. I certainly trust their judgment."
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