The children of Dr. Martin Luther King are constantly in the news with their internal squabbles about their parents’ estates. Most people I know find this public airing of dirty family linen distasteful. It also dishonors the memory of their parents.

At one point, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge appointed a special master to help them sort through the issues surrounding the papers of  their mother Coretta Sott King.  Of course, by this time they were in the middle of litigation so the sqaubble was played out on the front pages of the newspapers. This week the issues surround charging money for the use of Dr. King’ s image to those who are raising money for the King Memorial that will be build in Washington, D.C.

The  particular nature of family disputes is better served  by the confidentiality of mediation.  What goes on in the family should stay in the family. Can someone please tell the King children?

Martin's Dream, 74 x 87 inches, by O.V. brantley, 2002.