Christine King Farris is the eldest and only living sibling of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. She teaches at Spelman College

Spelman College

Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...

 and is the author of several books and a public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education, and teaching. Professor Farris was, for many years, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the King Center and has been active for several years in the International Reading Association

International Reading Association

The International Reading Association is an international professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialogue about research on reading, and encourage the habit of reading....

, and various church and civic organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...

 and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...

.

Family

She is the first child of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Christine Williams King, and is the elder sister of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Alfred Daniel Williams King

Alfred Daniel Williams King

Alfred Daniel Williams King , known as A. D. King, was the younger brother of Martin Luther King, Jr., the famed leader of the American civil-rights movement. Like his older brother, A. D. King was a Baptist minister and an activist for civil rights.- Biography :Alfred King was born July 30, 1930,...

. The three siblings spent their early years in the home of their grandparents, Adam Daniel Williams, who died in 1931, and Jennie Celeste Parks Williams, who died ten years later.

Christine Farris married Isaac Newton Farris on August 19, 1960. They had two children: Angela Christine Farris Watkins and Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., who currently serves as CEO of the King Center.

Family tragedies

Farris has endured the murder of one brother in 1968, the drowning of another brother in 1969, and the murder of her mother in 1974. Farris has not returned to Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 since she traveled there after the assassination of her brother to retrieve his body. In recent years, she has attended the funerals of her niece, Yolanda King

Yolanda King

Yolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...

, and sister in law, Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Mrs...

. In a recent interview with CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, she said she would not attend an April 2008 event marking the 40th anniversary of her brother's assassination, because of the painful memories of her last visit to Memphis.

Books by Christine King Farris

My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin ...
by Christine King Farris

Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Dream
by Christine King Farris

Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Dreams/Grades 3-5
by Christine King Farris - 1986

Martin Luther King, Jr., His Life and Dream: Elementary Level
by Christine King Farris

Teaching Children about Martin Luther King: Lessons for Life
by Jr III Martin Luther King, Christine King Farris - 2003