MLK: From dream to scheme

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Martin Luther King did not profit from his acclaim. To him, it would have been unthinkable. But the unthinkable is business as usual for his children. Dexter King, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King are locked in a pair of lawsuits against each other over control of their father’s effects, including an annotated Bible and his Nobel medal.

The brothers want to sell the heirlooms, which are controlled by the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc., for millions of dollars. Ms. King has tried to head that off in court, arguing that the items belong in the family. The brothers have countersued the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, a nonprofit that gets significant funding from the estate and is headed by Ms. King.

If Martin Luther King were alive, we suspect he would say that the heirlooms — and his historic words — belong to all Americans.

That his sons want to sell them to the highest bidder may have broken King’s heart. Their legal war to do so makes a mockery of his legacy and turns his dream into a scheme.