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MLK’s daughter and two Civil Rights icons take part in Super Bowl coin toss

Bernice Albertine King is the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. Bernice, 54, is a Christian minister She works as CEO of The King Center to advocate nonviolence. She has conflicted with her siblings over selling The King Center. Bernice has said her father would oppose gay marriage. She once told LGBT supporters her father did not take a bullet for same-sex marriage.
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Feb 3, 2019

Tapping into Atlanta's Civil Rights legacy, Andrew Young, John Lewis and Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., participated in the opening coin toss of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Bernice King had the honor of actually tossing the coin. The Patriots captain called head. The coin came up tails. The Patriots elected to defer.

Moments before the coin toss, the NFL ran video across the Halo Board of Martin Luther King Jr., along with excepts from his speeches. The video was also included in the live CBS game broadcast.

Lewis, who represents Atlanta in Congress, is known for his role in Civil Rights protests, including the Selma, Ala. voting rights marches. Young, who was an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. , later served as United Nations ambassador during the Jimmy Carter administration, as a member of Congress and as mayor of Atlanta.

Bernice King is CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, which works to carry on the work of her father.

2/3/19 - Atlanta - Bernice King, in blue jersey at right, stands next to Andrew Young on the field before the New England Patriots played the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. (JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM)

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

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Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

2/3/19 - Atlanta - John Lewis and Andrew Young on the field with Jamie Foxx before the New England Patriots play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. 
CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Credit: Curtis Compton

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Credit: Curtis Compton

2/3/19 - Atlanta - John Lewis and Andrew Young before the New England Patriots played the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. 
CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Credit: Curtis Compton

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Credit: Curtis Compton

2/3/19 - Atlanta - John Lewis and Andrew Young before the New England Patriots play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Credit: Curtis Compton

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Credit: Curtis Compton

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.

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