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From:
sarah
2005-01-09 18:26:06 | I was wandering if you know of a song starting with: once a day?
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From:
2005-09-30 10:43:09 | Turmoil at King Center
> Brothers feud over who is in charge
> By MAE W. GENTRY , MARIA SAPORTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Published on: 09/30/05
As Coretta Scott King struggles to recover from a debilitating stroke, her sons are feuding over control of the center she created to carry on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, people familiar with the strife say.
Nearly two years after Dexter Scott King announced that he would step down as head of the King Center, it has become evident in recent weeks that the move to shift authority to his older brother Martin Luther King III has unraveled.
Martin King officially took control of the center Aug. 22 after its board of directors voted to oust Dexter King, who has managed the center from his home in California. After the vote, Martin King announced to the staff that he had taken charge and immediately ordered the locks to the center changed, said people who are familiar with the dispute but asked not to be identified.
It is unclear what has transpired since then within the institution, which guards its privacy jealously. However, on Thursday there were signs of more change: A locksmith was seen changing the locks again as four uniformed Atlanta police officers stood guard. The center, which is usually open on weekdays, was closed.
While it was uncertain who remained in the building, one of Dexter King's closest allies, Isaac Farris, was spotted on the center's balcony. Dexter King was seen leaving the center late Thursday.
Dexter King could not be reached for comment. Farris said that Dexter King's spokesman would contact the newspaper, but he did not call before deadline.
Martin King declined getting into the details but expressed regret over the impasse. "It's certainly regrettable this situation happened at the time of Mother's illness and rehabilitation," Martin King said in a telephone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I feel it is time to move the organization forward to fulfill the legacy of our father and certainly the life work of our mother."
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the only non-family member on the center's board, expressed surprise over the depth of the dispute between the brothers. "I was aware there was a disagreement, but I was not aware it was to this extent," Young said. "Martin is the CEO and has been going to the center just about every day for the past six months and doing the work.
"There's some question about Dexter. There's a tension and they are not cooperating with each other. They don't seem to be communicating with each other."
At its core, the drama unfolding on Auburn Avenue is a power struggle between two intensely private people whose dispute has spilled onto a public stage. But perhaps more importantly, the outcome of their struggle could determine the direction of the King Center, one of the most visible symbols of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy.
The brothers had been fighting for two years but have not wanted their differences made public, said a person close to the family who asked not to be identified. The reasons underlying their quarrel were not apparent late Thursday.
Dexter King's decade-long tenure as head of the center was marked by controversy. The center has been entangled in a bitter dispute with the National Park Service over interpretation of Martin Luther King Jr.'s teachings. The park service manages a visitor's center and the historic district around the King Center, which includes King's birthplace.
Dexter King cut programs at the center, including the nonviolence training that was at the heart of its mission. The center also has been marked by turnover, financial stresses and maintenance problems. A National Park Service report found that the 24-year-old center needs about $11.6 million in repairs.
Questions also have been raised about Dexter King's decision to transfer most of the center's staff to the payroll of a for-profit company he controls. Since 2000, the center has paid Intellectual Properties Management Inc. $4.2 million to provide salaries and benefits to the center's staff. King Center officials said that neither the company nor family members profited from the arrangement. However, charity watchdog groups questioned whether the relationship between Intellectual Properties and the King Center was appropriate because it created potential for conflicts of interest.
Additionally, two federal agencies have been looking into allegations that the center misused at least $1 million in federal grants. The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Education is checking on the center's use of a $500,000 grant awarded in September 2002. The center had asked for the money to develop a curriculum for schoolchildren on King's principles of nonviolence. Also, the Department of the Interior, which has been giving the King Center $500,000 to $1 million a year for maintenance and operations, is conducting its own inquiry into the center's spending.
In 2003, Dexter King announced he would step down as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board, and would turn over chairmanship to his mother and day-to-day operations to his older brother.
But some people familiar with the center's inner workings said Martin King never truly took charge.
Almost immediately after saying he was stepping down, Dexter King became the King Center's chief operating officer and regained chairmanship of the nine-member board. In addition to Young and Coretta King, the board includes Coretta King's four children and three other relatives.
Present and former employees said Dexter King was a hands-on administrator, though he conducted King Center business by speakerphone from his home in Malibu, Calif., where he moved in 2000. Intent on pursuing a career in entertainment, he rarely attended King Center events.
Meanwhile, Martin King's role as president and CEO consisted of giving speeches, fund-raising and performing ceremonial functions. He greeted visiting heads of state, appeared on the dais at the annual Salute to Greatness banquet, helped lay wreaths at his father's crypt and addressed the crowd at the annual King Holiday service at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.
After the center's board removed Dexter King in August and ostensibly consolidated his brother's control over the institution, Martin King informed King Center staffers that he was "now the chairman, as well as president and CEO, and he's running the show," said a person familiar with the announcement but who requested anonymity.
In a meeting with the staff, Martin King articulated his vision for the center, including re-establishing its nonviolence training programs and began making plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott in December.
During the meeting, Martin King also told center employees they no longer would be paid by Intellectual Properties. Instead, he said their checks would be coming from the King Center.
But Thursday's scene at the center raised questions about who was really in charge, and people close to the two brothers say the battle over the center's leadership continues.
Coretta King was admitted to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta on Aug. 16 after a heart attack and major stroke that left her unable to speak. She was released from the hospital last week.
William "Sonny" Walker, a former King Center board member, said he has talked with others about the King Center and which of the brothers would be the best choice to lead it into the future.
"I think there's been some sentiment all along that Martin, because he is geographically located here, would probably be able to give more hands-on leadership to the center."
Walker said he hopes the King brothers' tug-of-war will not harm the institution their mother built as a monument to their father.
Staff writer S.A. Reid contributed to this article.
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From:
2006-01-23 12:37:15 | This is a shame! They need to get a job and support themselves rather than prostitute their father's legacy. |
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