Lost For Words
The Times reports on a depressing tale from America where the family of Dr Martin Luther King appear to be at war over their father's possessions including his travel bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal.
What can you say about this kind of behaviour which I imagine would have left their father thoroughly ashamed and, for once, lost for words
Family in court over Martin Luther King bible
From left, Dexter Scott King, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III who have taken legal action over their late father's prized possessions
John Bazemore-Pool/ Getty Images
By Devika Bhat - The Times
A long-running family feud over Martin Luther King’s most cherished possessions could finally be settled in a US court today.
Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King, the sons of the civil rights activist, have demanded that their sister, Bernice King, hand over their father’s bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal. The brothers, who control their father’s estate, want to sell the valuable items to a private buyer; their sister insists that the prized possessions are key to preserving the family legacy.
A judge in Atlanta will either pass a verdict or let the dispute, which has lasted nearly a year, go to trial. The possessions are held in a safe deposit box, the keys of which are held by the court.
Judge Robert McBurney has already indicated in which direction he may rule, saying that it seemed likely that Ms King’s brothers would win the case when he ordered her to hand over the items to the court’s custody .
Neither the bible — used by President Obama at his swearing-in ceremony in 2013 — nor the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded in 1964 have been seen in public much in recent years despite their significance in the history of the civil rights movement. Dr King took the bible with him as he travelled the country campaigning for equal rights.
The dispute is at least the fifth lawsuit between the siblings in the past decade.
