Yolanda King memorialized in Atlanta

A memorial service was held in Atlanta today for Yolanda King - the oldest child of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr.

Yolanda King died earlier this month at the age of 51.

Nearly two-thousand mourners filed past trees bearing yellow ribbons, to remember King at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Ebenezer is the same church where decades earlier Dr. King was a young pastor.

Among those paying tribute to King was legendary actress and civil rights activist, Cecily Tyson, the Reverand Al Sharpton and Atayallah Shabbaz, the daughter of slain civil rights leader, Malcolm X.

King tried to move from under the mantle of responsibility the King family name brought with it. She studied acting at NYU and found success as an actress, although she found it hard to break into roles that did not cast her in the role of the suffering martyr.

The cause of King's death has not yet been determined. Family members say she suffered from heart disease and hypertension. Autopsy results are pending.

Memorial service for Yolanda King

A memorial service for Yolanda King is set for later today in Atlanta. The oldest child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died just over a week ago in California at 51 years old. The service will be at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizons Sanctuary, across the street from the historic church where her father once preached. Former Atlanta mayor and King lieutenant Andrew Young is expected to be among those speaking at the service.

Yolanda King's body arrives in Georgia

The body of Yolanda King arrived pre-dawn today in Atlanta from Los Angeles. The eldest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died Tuesday evening in Santa Monica, California--she was 51. A memorial service is planned in Atlanta next Thursday at Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary. Another service will be held as well in Los Angeles. The family says there will be no public viewing, and that Yolanda King's remains will be cremated.

Eldest child of Martin Luther King-Jr dies

The oldest child and daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King-Jr has died. A spokesman for The King Center in Atlanta said Yolanda Denise King passed away last night in Santa Monica-California at 51 years old. The cause of death is not known, but the family believes it might have been from a heart problem.

Yolanda King was born in 1955 in Montgomery-Alabama. She was an author, and followed her father as a speaker and advocate for peace and nonviolence. She held membership in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, co-founded by her father in 1957. During King Day ceremonies honoring her father in January, she spoke strongly of Dr. King's life and legacy.

King was also an actress who appeared in several films, and started a production company.

Yolanda Denise King is survived by her sister, 2 brothers, and extended family. Her death comes more than a year after that of her mother, Coretta Scott King.