Martin Luther King’s Daughter Rejects Presidency of Civil-Rights Group

Fifteen months after being elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Bernice King formally declined the office Friday, saying the civil-rights group’s board wanted her to serve as a “figurehead,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Ms. King, elected in October 2009 as the conference’s first woman president, stayed largely on the sidelines as rival factions fought for control of the organization co-founded by her father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

That battle ended in September with the court-ordered ouster of former board chairman Raleigh Trammell, who has since been charged with embezzling $50,000 from the group. Ms. King said she began talks with the board shortly afterward about the terms of her presidency but could not abide by the job description she got from trustees, which gave her little authority.

Bernard LaFayette, vice chairman of the board, said the organization accepted Ms. King’s decision “with respect” and would hold a new election in August.