I was listening to my car radio on the afternoon of Jan. 22 when I heard the sad news of the passing of Dexter Scott King that day after a courageous battle with prostate cancer in California. The younger son of the late renowned civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King was 62. He leaves to mourn his wife of 11 years, Leah Weber King, his older brother Martin Luther King III and his younger sister. pastor Dr. Bernice King. Yolanda King, his older sister, died in 2007.
My sincere condolences to Dexter Scott King’s family, many friends and co-civil rights advocates.
When I heard the unhappy news, I reflected on the time when I had the honor of meeting Dexter Scott King at a Barnes & Noble bookstore event in Manhattan about 2003. Indeed, I was excited to meet the son of a civil rights icon. Despite losing his father at a tender age, he came across as a refined young man with a superb upbringing. Yet, I could sense that he was still hurting from the tragedy that happened to his father.
Nevertheless, Dexter was humble, warm and friendly, and was very easy to talk with. In our brief conversation, I told him how his father’s civil rights work had impacted people not just here in the United States, but people globally too, and that I, as a minority immigrant to America, had been a beneficiary as well. In response, he expressed his deep appreciation for my comment. After meeting Dexter, I was ecstatic, to say the least.
Since his passing, I remembered visiting Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s tomb in 1996 in Atlanta, as well
as The King Center, where I saw his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize on display, and then taking a guided tour
of his modest childhood home on Auburn Avenue. I also visited the nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church
where he preached so many eloquent and stirring sermons. All of the sites were very impressive; I
felt that a part of history was coming alive before my very eyes. I will never forget meeting with
Dexter nor my Atlanta tour of the MLK Jr.’s historic sites.
Prostate cancer relating to prominent persons has been in the news lately. U.S. Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin underwent prostate surgery recently. Also baseball Hall of Famer Ryne
Sandberg announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And now we hear the news of the
death of Dexter Scott King from the same type of cancer.
These cases should be a wake-up call to men. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men, according to the American Cancer Society. Hence, men at risk should consult their urologist. Doctors say the best way to fight prostate cancer is with early
detection, starting with screening for the disease annually at age 50 for men with average risk.
Steve Dixon is a retired New York City civil servant who lives in Delray Beach.