Yolanda Denise King Has Died At Age 51

The eldest child of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Yolanda Denise King, has died at age 51. The family does not know the cause of death, but relatives believe it to have been heart related.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, King was a human rights worker and actress. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (the official national memorial to her father) and was founding Director of the King Center's Cultural Affairs Program. She served on the Partnership Council of Habitat for Humanity, was a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and held a lifetime membership in the NAACP.

King received a B.A. degree with honors from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a Masters degree in Theatre from New York University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marywood University.

In 1978 she starred as Rosa Parks in the TV miniseries King (which was based on her father's life and released on DVD in 2005). She also appeared in "Ghosts of Mississippi," and founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions.

She was an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence.

Her death comes more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King.

Yolanda King is survived by her sister, the Rev. Bernice A. King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family.