*Dr. Christine King Farris, the oldest sibling of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at age 95.
Farris passed away peacefully with her family by her side in Atlanta on Thursday morning, the King Center announced on Twitter.
Farris was the first child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Christine Williams King, born Sept. 11, 1927, in Atlanta. As The Associated Press reports, after her brother was assassinated in 1968, Farris worked with his widow, Coretta Scott King, to preserve and promote his legacy. Additionally, she contributed to the development of The King Center and helped to teach Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence philosophy.
“She may not have always been on the line of the march, but that was true with a lot of the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Marcellus Barksdale, a history professor at Morehouse College, of Farris in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press, The Associated Press reports.
“Because of the luminescence of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, Christine kind of got dimmed by that, but she was no less important,” he added.
The King family posted tributes to Ferris on social media following news of her passing. Bernice King tweeted a photo of herself with Farris, writing, “I love you and will miss you, Aunt Christine.”
Martin Luther King III also shared on social media that he and his family spent time with his aunt before she passed, per The AP.
“Aunt Christine embodied what it meant to be a public servant. Like my dad, she spent her life fighting for equality and against racism in America,” he tweeted.
“She defied the odds that held back too many marginalized communities – going on to become a civil rights leader and acclaimed author. No stranger to adversity, Aunt Christine used the tragedies of the assassinations of her mother and brother to fight for change in America,” King III added.
Farris and Isaac Newton Farris Sr. were married for 57 years before his passing. The couple had two children.
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