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All
four of King's children are board members. Martin Luther
King III said Friday that he was replaced as its chairman
by his brother Dexter King earlier this year, and that
Bernice King was removed as secretary earlier this year.
Their
mother, Coretta Scott King, who founded the center shortly
after the civil rights leader's death in 1968, is recovering
from a stroke she suffered in August and cannot verbally
respond to the conflict.
Board
members who support the sale -- including siblings Dexter
King and Yolanda King and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew
Young -- have said the transfer of power would let the
family focus less on grounds maintenance and more on
King's message of nonviolence.
A
Park Service report issued last year estimated that
the King Center needed $11.6 million in repairs. The
report cited leaks in the reflective pool, collapsed
drainage pipes and problems with loose and exposed wiring.
The
National Park Service already owns the King National
Historic Site across the street and maintains Historic
Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached from 1960
to 1968, as well as the King birth home and the visitors'
center.
The
King Center holds documents from the civil rights movement
and the tomb of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Martin
and Bernice King said Friday their mother expressed
her opinion on a possible sale earlier this year.
"She
felt at some point that it may, in fact, end up with
the government, but she never envisioned that in her
lifetime," Bernice King said.
Martin
Luther King III said Friday he had neglected his board
duties over the past decade but was ready to step up
now.
"The
board of directors has been remiss in providing sufficient
oversight regarding important governance of operational
and program issues," he said. "I take responsibility
for my own failure."
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