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Biography
Dexter Scott King
Dexter Scott King, named for the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church,
where Martin Luther King, Jr. held his first pastorate, was born in
Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 1961. He is the third of four children
born to Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King. He attended his father's
alma mater, Morehouse College and majored in Business Administration.
Mr. King is currently Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc.
(The King Center), in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. King has served as a member of
the board of directors since 1984. The King Center is dedicated to
promoting the life, work and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The
King Center is the official living memorial dedicated to the legacy of Dr.
King.
Mr. King splits his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta pursuing his
responsibilities in media and entertainment, which include producing
several projects which are both King legacy and non-King legacy related.
Mr. King serves on the board of the Black Leadership Forum, which is
comprised of the nation's top African-American leaders. He has been
featured on numerous television talk shows such as The Montel Williams
Show, CNN's Larry King Live and VIBE.
In 1977, Mr. King began his foray into the movie industry portraying a
Civil Rights Movement student protester in the NBC-made for television
movie "King" starring Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson.
In 1986, he produced an all-star record entitled "King
Holiday", a We Are The World type project in celebration of the first
federal King Holiday Observance. The record featured Whitney Houston, New
Edition, Menudo, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, and several other recording
artists.
In 1999, he produced an Emmy nominated animated movie "OUR FRIEND
MARTIN" inspired by the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. King
portrayed his father's voice in the movie, which also featured the voices
of Ed Asner, Angela Bassett, Lucas Black, LeVar Burton, Danny Glover,
Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, Ashley Judd, Yolanda
King, Robert Ri-Chard, Susan Sarandon, John Travolta, Jaleel White and
Oprah Winfrey. In 1999 the movie, which was produced jointly by CBS/Fox,
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Intellectual Properties
Management, and DIC Entertainment, was nominated for an Emmy Award for
"Best Animated Program".
In February of 2002, Mr. King portrayed his father in the CBS-movie of
the week, "The Rosa Parks Story". The movie featured Ms. Angela
Bassett, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Mrs.
Rosa Parks. Currently, Mr. King is author of a book entitled "Growing
Up King: An Intimate Memoir", to be published by AOL Time Warner
Books in January 2003.
Through the years, Mr. King has been featured in numerous publications.
In the past several years, he has been lauded in Ebony magazine for his
leadership and featured in their "100 Most Influential Black
Americans" issue. In 1995, he was voted one of People magazine's
"50 Most Beautiful People", and in 2000 featured in their
"100 Most Eligible Bachelors" issue.
Mr. King has traveled extensively in the United States and abroad,
including Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Spain, France, the West Indies, Korea,
Central and South America. Mr. King has served as a guest lecturer for
numerous organizations including corporations, schools, universities and
churches both domestically and abroad. He has received and been nominated
for various awards, including "Outstanding Young Men of
America".
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