Yolanda Denise King was the oldest child of America’s famous civil rights leader, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. A flag at The King Center was seen being lowered to half-staff as news emerged of her sudden death.
King Center Spokesman Steve Klein said in a statement that "Yolanda Denise King died last night in Santa Monica, California." He said the family did not yet know the cause of death but believes it might have been a heart problem. King was born in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, and was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era.
As an actress, she has appeared in numerous films and even played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." She also appeared in "Ghosts of Mississippi." She also founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions.
ANOTHER BLOW
Still mourning the death of evangelist Jerry Falwell, US President George W. Bush suggested through his spokesman that King’s passing was another blow for America.
"President Bush and the first lady were sad to learn of King’s death, "said White House press secretary Tony Snow adding that "Our thoughts are with the King family today."
One of her father’s close aides in the civil rights movement, Reverend Joseph Lowery, reportedly stressed he was stunned and saddened by the news of King’s death.
"Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," Lowery said in published remarks. "She was a warm and gentle person and was thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama."
EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES
Reverend Al Sharpton, a black political leader, said he expressed his condolences to her brother Martin Luther King III on Wednesday. Sharpton said Yolanda King was a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right".
"Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to non-violent social change and justice for all," he said. "She was the first daughter of the civil rights movement and never shamed her parents or her co-activists."
She was also an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence. She is survived by her sister, the Reverend Bernice King; two brothers, Martin Luther King the Third and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family. The family said in a statement that arrangements for her funeral would be announced later. Her death came more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King. (With reporting from the United States).
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