Christine King Farris, MLK’s Last Living Sister, Passes Away At 95

Dr. Christine King Farris, sister of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has passed away at 95 on Thursday, June 29.

In an official announcement made by The King Center, the founding board member of the Atlanta-based nonprofit for social change was a renowned civil rights activist, educator, author, and enduring matriarch of the King family.

The King Center Mourns the Loss of Dr. #ChristineKingFarris, Founding Board Member, Esteemed Educator, Author, Activist, and Sister of #MLK pic.twitter.com/jvf38iJk1U

— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) June 29, 2023

Willie Christine King Farris was the firstborn child to Martin Luther King Sr. in 1927, and championed her younger brother’s monumental efforts to spark structural and societal changes in America.

In her life dedicated to service, she was known as “the delicate one,” but also as one of the strongest, being a pillar of strength and resilience for the family throughout tragedy, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On her passing, the children of her late brother, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, celebrated their aunt and her long-lasting matriarchal role.

“Our family mourns the passing of my aunt, Willie Christine King Farris,” expressed King III. “As the eldest sibling of my father, Martin Luther King Jr., 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.”

His younger sister, and current CEO of the King Center, relayed her sentiments via Twitter, calling her aunt a “phenomenal woman” who “survived and thrived.”

Dr. Christine King Farris.
An extraordinary educator.
My father’s sister.
One of the co-laborers with my mother in founding The King Center.
Phenomenal Woman.
Inspiring Human.
She survived and thrived.

I love you, Aunt Christine.
I will always cherish you.
I will miss you. pic.twitter.com/Xdt3Ot0pCy

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 29, 2023

To lead in her legacy and spirit of educational empowerment and philanthropy, the King Center will further promote The Christine King Farris Legacy Foundation Inc., founded in 2022 for her 95th birthday. The foundation will continue its fundraising for its eponymous scholarship at Spelman College as well as the Leadership program at her alma mater, while also bestowing an annual community award in the name of education.

She is survived by her grandchild, Farris Christine Watkins, and two children, Isaac Jr. and Angela, shared with her late husband, Isaac Newton Farris Sr., who died in 2017.

Christine King Farris leaves a storied history of faith and perseverance amidst strife, sharing in a 2007 interview with the AJC of her purpose as the last surviving King sibling,

“You don’t question anything, but I wonder why am I the one that is left. God must have me here for something.”