Naomi Ruth Barber King, civil rights activist and sister-in-law to MLK Jr., dead at 92

Naomi Ruth Barber King, a civil rights activist married to the younger brother of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died Thursday, the A.D. King Foundation announced. She was 92.

The late matriarch and civil rights activist passed away peacefully in Atlanta, the organization reported.

In 2008, King established the foundation to empower youth and women and advance strategies for nonviolent social change, according to the organization's website.

"Mrs. King will be remembered as a beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a beacon of light to those in the churches and communities she served," the King family wrote in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. "She was a woman of quiet dignity, overcoming strength, and steadfast support to her husband, family, and circles of influence within and beyond Atlanta."

Who was Naomi King married to?

Born in Dothan, Alabama, King moved to Georgia with her mother Bessie Barber to “make a better living” for themselves, according to the foundation’s website.

She attended Spelman College in 1949 where she studied French and later attended the University of Alabama to study interior design, the website says, and was married to the late Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King, a civil rights leader and Baptist minister.

The couple shared five children. A.D. King died in July 1969.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the A.D. King Foundation at www.adkingfoundation.com.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.