MLK's Children on 50th Anniversary of Assassination

(AP)

Monday, 02 April 2018 10:36 AM EDT ET

The three living children of civil-rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King have recalled the emotional trauma they suffered over his assassination some 50 years ago this week.

"Even to this day, when I see a breaking news flash, I have PTSD. You see your father being shot on television, that's very — very traumatic," Dexter King, who was 7 when King was shot dead in Memphis, told CBS News.

Martin III, who was 10 years old, said: "I remember us going back to mother and dad's room to get an explanation from her. I don't know that she said, 'Your daddy has been shot.' What I remember her saying was, 'Your dad has gone home to live with God.'"

Bernice, who was 5, told CBS: "I was angry. I was angry with God because I felt he could have stopped it. I was angry at my father, you know for leaving me. I was angry at white people because I felt like they were responsible at the time. … Eventually I realized I had anger at everybody."

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The three living children of civil-rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King have recalled the emotional trauma they suffered over his assassination some 50 years ago this week.
martin luther king, assassination, anniversary, mlk
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2018-36-02
Monday, 02 April 2018 10:36 AM
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