They Murdered Dr. King's Mother and Brother as well ...

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Arguably one of the most famous assassinations of all time was the assassination of Civil Rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, what many don’t know is that in the months and years that followed his death, his mother, Alberta King and his brother, A.D. King would be murdered and found dead as well …

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      The family of Martin Luther King Jr. has been plagued by tragedies, including the murder of his younger brother, Alfred Daniel “A.D.” King, and their mother, Alberta Williams King. In July 1969, 15 months after Martin's assassination, A.D. was found dead in the family’s swimming pool, a day after he expressed his intention to find out who killed his brother. Unlike Martin, who became a martyr and an icon, A.D. died as a footnote in history. A.D. had been with Martin when he was assassinated, and his death deeply affected him. A.D. had internal demons, according to King's biographer, Clayborne Carson.

A.D. was the youngest of the three King siblings and was known for being rebellious. He got married as a teenager instead of going to college and entering the ministry, unlike his father and brother. However, he eventually followed in his family's footsteps and became a Minister. Before Birmingham, A.D.’s civil rights activities were limited, but he and his church played a vital role in the city. He was arrested several times in Birmingham, a city that was among the most violent and segregated in the United States. A.D. and his family felt the full force of hatred in Birmingham when their home was bombed on the night before Mother's Day in 1963. Fortunately, they survived the attack, but their home was destroyed. A.D. proved to himself that he had his own commitment to the movement and became his own man, according to Carson.

He was a prominent Preacher in Atlanta and had he not been Martin's baby brother, he would have been better known, according to Andrew Young, a longtime friend and Civil Rights soldier.[1] To this day much of the King family still believe A.D was murdered. His wife would later say “ I believe that my husband was killed. Many others have come to the same conclusion. When I examined his body at the mortuary before he was released for burial, I clearly see that he had rings around his neck and bruises on his head and stomach. He was found in a fetal position at the bottom of the pool with no water in his lungs. I am convinced that he was murdered because they could not stand living with the power of two kings, ML and AD walking this earth; dreaming the same dream, demanding the freedom that didn’t just belong to them—it belonged to us all.”[2]

Fast forward 5 years after the murder of A.D. King in 1969, Alberta Christine Williams King, the brother’s mother, was playing the organ at Ebenezer Baptist Church, when 23-year-old Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. entered the church and began firing a gun. He hit and killed church Deacon Edward Boykin, Alberta King, and congregation member Jimmie Mitchell. Although Chenault's lawyers argued that he was insane, and according to Chenault himself he was “following orders from God”, he was ultimately given a life sentence for his crimes. Alberta's death was another devastating blow to the King family, who had already lost King Jr. and A.D.[3] For more information on the subject and others like it, get your copy of the critically acclaimed 500 Amazing facts about the Negro “Link Below.”

[1] Suggs, Ernie. “Younger Brother Gets Lost in the Shadow of Martin Luther King.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 20 Jan. 2014, https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/younger-brother-gets-lost-in-the-shadow-of-martin-luther-king/.

[2] Barber, King Naomi Ruth, and Babs Onabanjo. AD and ML King: Two Brothers Who Dared to Dream. AuthorHouse, 2014. (Kindle)

[3} -, Rebecca Burns, et al. “The Murder of Alberta King.” Atlanta Magazine, 29 Apr. 2015, https://www.atlantamagazine.com/civilrights/the-murder-of-alberta-king/.

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