Christine King Farris, sister of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall August 28, 2013 in Washington, DC. during the 50th anniversary of the US civil rights era March on Washington where …
ATLANTA - The family of Dr. Christine King Farris has announced a three-day tribute to the life and legacy of the King family matriarch.
The first event on July 11, reflecting on her career and service to the community, will take place in Sisters Chapel at Spelman College. She will lie in state between 4 and 5:45 p.m. and tributes and final rituals will begin at 6 p.m. from Spelman College, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Links, Inc.
The second event on July 15 will reflect on her faith and will take place at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue NE. She will like in state from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. At 6 p.m., the "Make A Joyful Noise" musical tribute will begin.
The final event reflecting on her life and legacy will take place July 16, also at Ebenezer Baptist Church. She will lie in state from 3 to 4:30 p.m. with a Celebration of Life at 5 p.m.
Dr. Farris died at 95 on June 29. Born in 1927, she was the first child of Rev. Martin Luther King S. and Alberta Christine Williams King.
Her formative years were shaped in large part on Auburn Avenue, in the house where her younger brother, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was born, and her spiritual home, the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her grandfather, father, and brothers served as pastors. She was the longest-serving member at the church, where she served as a trustee, soloist, and leader.
CHRISTINE KING FARRIS, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S SISTER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, DIES AT 95
In 2003, Farris published a children's book about Dr. King's childhood and the siblings' upbringing in the 1920s titled "My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." She followed that with an autobiography in 2009 titled "Though It All: Reflection on My Life, My Family, and My Faith."
Just as she watched over her younger brothers when they were children, decades later, Farris helped ensure King's legacy lived on following his assassination in 1968.
A great civil rights activist in her own right, Farris joined Coretta Scott King, King's widow, in establishing the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in northwest Atlanta in June 1968.
A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Farris was married to Isaac Newton Farris Sr. for 57 years before his passing. The couple had two children, Isaac Farris Jr. and Dr. Angela Farris-Watkins.