Monday Memories: Daughter described Martin Luther King, Jr. as a “buddy daddy”

Yolanda King had traveled the country speaking about the civil rights legacy of her father, Martin Luther King, Jr. But it wasn’t until she gave a talk at Bowling Green University 20 years ago, she said, that anyone asked her about childhood memories of him. He was fun, she said, a dad who romped with the kids around the house, driving her mother crazy. ‘He was a buddy daddy. He was my best friend,’ she told The Blade in 2005. His role as a civil rights leader wasn’t part of those memories because she was only 12 years old when he was assassinated. Filling in those gaps took a lot of research, she said. In this January 2005 Blade archive photo, Ms. King gestures as she speaks to an audience of about 1,000 people as part of university’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Celebration. Her multimedia presentation included poetry and acting. She made her personal remarks about her father during a question-and-answer session. Go to thebladevault.com/memories to purchase more historical photos taken by our award-winning staff of photographers, past and present, or to purchase combinations of stories and photos.