King Family Should Be Ashamed for Mishandling Legacy of Civil Rights Icon by Charging Memorial Nearly $800K to Use Words & Pictures

Children of late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., mishandling legacy of their father by continuing to "extort" money to use his words and pictures, specifically charging nearly $800K to use his words and pictures on the King Memorial at the National Mall.

Did the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. engage in a shakedown over his memorial at the National Mall in Washington D.C., charging the memorial $761,160 for the rights to use the civil rights leader's words and images. The family has mishandled the legacy of their father. Bernice, Dexter and Martin Luther King III have lost my respect, not just recently. I came to this place a long time ago, when the city of Atlanta forced them to make improvements and repairs to the King Center a few years ago. The center had violations upon violations. It was interesting to learn then that Dexter King was in charge of the King Center, and now, he's in charge of Intellectual Properties Management, Inc. It's all about money for this family. I can't recall hearing that the family of John F. Kennedy is charging for the use of his speeches. Tacky.

I can only call the action of Intellectual Properties Management Inc., as nothing more than extortion. They are messing with the legacy and reputation of Dr. King. As historian and King biographer David Garrow told the AP, "I don't think the Jefferson family, the Lincoln family [or] any other group of family ancestors has been paid a licensing fee for a memorial in Washington." Dexter King and his siblings are pimping the legacy of Dr. King. This isn't the dream he spoke about in that historic speech. While I don't think what the King children are doing is necessarily criminal, it amounts to a money grab and could tarnish the good name of their father.

When I first heard that the family had benefited so handsomely from the memorial two years ago, I was appalled then and I am still today. If it weren't for Dr. King and what he stood for, I would encourage people to boycott the monument, but he played far too great a roll in our country's history. Had this been the family of JFK or even  Abraham Lincoln, the criticism would be loud, to the point of deafening. I will concede the point that Abraham Lincoln has been dead for decades and the same line of reasoning may not hold for his relatives, but it's the principle more than anything for me. Boyce Watkins made the argument, of the King children, "that he truth is that if these children were from the Kennedy or Bush families, they would already be wealthy beyond belief. But being the descendants of slaves, where family wealth was stolen from us for over 400 years, you have to make your money wherever you can." We can't keep excusing bad behavior by throwing the whole black experience in the United States up as a smokescreen every time. That's no excuse for tackiness and greediness.

The article that appeared in the Root is worth reading. Read more: http://www.theroot.com/views/shakedown-king-monument?page=0,1&wpisrc=root_lightbox