ATLANTA — The son of Christine King Farris called his mother the family matriarch who was “the power behind the throne.”
The eldest sister of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. passed away Thursday at the age of 95.
Her son, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., said “she passed away very peacefully.”
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He joined his cousin, Bernice King, at the King Center on Friday to reflect on his mother’s legacy.
“I think she was very happy to be a part of her brother’s work, her sister-in-law’s work here at the King Center,” he said, referring to Coretta Scott King, who founded the King Center after her husband’s assassination in 1968.
Christine King Farris was one of the founding board members.
“We wouldn’t be here without Aunt Coretta, but Aunt Coretta couldn’t have done it without mother,” Farris said.
King Farris earned two master’s degrees from Columbia University and spent eight years teaching in Atlanta Public Schools.
She was an icon at Spelman College, her alma mater, where she spent 56 years as an educator before retiring in 2014.
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“Mother was not the type of person to need attention or be out front,” he said. “But she was there at every march. She was there, working behind the scenes, supporting her brother.”
Bernice King said her aunt was a soothing and encouraging presence through decades of struggle and tragedy.
Not only was her brother assassinated, but her mother, Alberta King, was shot and killed six years later.
“I was just amazed at her ability to go through all of the tragedy that she went through and still stand strong and still be full of faith and love,” Bernice King said.
“She was the backbone at Ebenezer Baptist Church,” Farris said, referring to the church led by Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. “She was there, throughout it all.”
Funeral arrangements are being made, with public viewings planned at Ebenezer Baptist Church and Spelman College. The funeral is expected to take place in about two weeks.
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