Christine King Farris, Sister Of Martin Luther King Jr., Dies At 95

ATLANTA, GA — Dr. Christine King Farris, the activist, author, educator and elder sister of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, The King Center announced Thursday. She was 95.

Farris died sometime Thursday morning. A cause of death was not available.

In a statement, the center said Farris was a "servant leader" and a family matriarch. She formerly held the positions of vice-chair and treasurer for the center where she was a founding board member.

Farris was born on Sept. 11, 1927, in Atlanta and was the oldest of three children born to Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King, according to a biography from Stanford University's The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Her decision to join the church became the "stimulus" for her younger brother's religious life, according to the institute.

Farris was admitted into Spelman College in 1944, when she was 16-years-old, according to the college.. While there, she joined the Spelman College Glee Club under the leadership of professor Kemper Harreld and performed as a soloist.

At Spelman, she was a member of the English and French clubs and was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP.

Farris graduated from Spelman in 1948 with a bachelor's of arts degree in economics. She earned a master's degree in 1950 from Columbia University Teacher's College and a master's in special education in 1958.

Farris held teaching positions as an adjunct professor at Morehouse College and Atlanta University, according to her Stanford biography. At Spelman, she was an associate professor of education.

Farris was married to Isaac Newton Farris and had two children, Isaac Newton Farris, Jr. and Angela Christine Farris.