Ep. 11: Martin Luther King, III

Martin Luther King III had to grow up fast. Maybe too fast. He was 10 years old when his father, Martin Luther King Jr., was murdered on April 4, 1968. At such a young age, the eldest son of the civil rights icon was forced to break away from his shy and inward personality to take on the role of the man of the house. In this 2008 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, King III gave insight into the King household after the tragic death of the family patriarch. Their family was, according to King III, no different from any other American family with the now-immediate challenges of being a one-parent home. Sibling rivalries. Teenage mischief. But perhaps more intriguing is the younger King’s description of who Martin Luther King Jr. was as a father—away from the marches and pulpit. From King’s account, his father was a great pool player, a basketball player and just an all-around fun dad. King IIII’s conversation was part of an oral history project marking the then 40th anniversary of King’s death. King III was one of 13 people that The AJC sat down with to record their stories and shed light on the life and death of the civil rights leader. We are re-releasing these interviews as a 13-part podcast hosted by Multimedia Journalist Ryon Horne. Along with King III, Kathryn Johnson, Tyrone Brooks, Earl Caldwell, Andrew Young, Xernona Clayton and Bernice King, and those who have left us — including Billy Kyle, Juanita Abernathy, Ralph David Abernathy III, the Rev. Joseph Lowery and Congressman John Lewis — each gives us a glimpse, through their relationships with King, inside the making of history. Each episode will be made available through the Unapologetically ATL newsletter, but you can also subscribe to “The Voices of King” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices