MLK III Steps Down as President of King Center to Start His Own Organization

By Kris Coombs, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Martin Luther King III resigned as president of The King Center on Tuesday. The Atlanta Center was built in honor of his father, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In a statement, King said he would focus on building a new organization, but remain active on the King Center's board of trustees.

"I will be devoting my primary future efforts towards launching a new organization that will focus on supporting a new generation of young 'drum majors for justice' worldwide to expand my commitment to the Kingian principles of nonviolence, social justice, and human rights," King said.

King made his announcement the day after the country observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday and a day of service to honor the slain civil rights leader.

No further details were given on the new organization, CNN reported.

"For me, the state of the world and its radically shifting winds in the wrong moral direction, summons the words of my father: 'Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom,'" King said in his statement.

"I am responding to my father's words by renewing and expanding my commitment to the struggle for social justice and human rights," King added.

Almost one million people visit The King Center in Atlanta to honor the legacy of Dr. King every year, CNN reported.