The King Center in Atlanta  set up to preserve the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King  says his oldest child, Yolanda Denise King, has died.Steve Klein, a spokesman for the center, says the 51-year-old died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif.A spokesman for the King Center says the family does not know the cause of death but suspects it might have been a heart problem.The death comes just over a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King  a civil rights leader in her own right  at the age of 78, of complications from ovarian cancer, and after a battle with the effects from a stroke.The children of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King  Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine  have each in their own way worked to carry on their parents' work fighting for racial equality and social justice.Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, King was just an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era.As an actress, she appeared in numerous films and even played civil rights heroine Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries "King." She founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions Speaking last January in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church  where her father preached for many years  Yolanda exhorted those observing the national holiday that bears his name to remember that America has not yet achieved peace and racial equality."We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," said Yolanda, urging those who honor the Kings' work to question their own beliefs on prejudice and be a personal force for peace and love.Yolanda at that same ceremony used her craft as an actress to deliver a tribute to her parents, performing a series of skits telling stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala.
Yolanda King speaking at the 2006 Out & Equal Workplace Summit. 

Yolanda King, the oldest daughter of former Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr. has died at the age of 51.

The cause of her death is still unknown, but reports say that she was suffering from heart related problems and that shortly after King gave a speech, she collapsed.

"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," said a statement issued by King's family.

A spokesman for the King Center, Steve Klein, says that King died while at her Santa Monica, California home.

King was born on November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. An actress, speaker and producer, King played Rosa Parks in the ''King'' miniseries in 1978. She was also the CEO of Higher Grounds Productions, a company that produces events related to spirituality and which advertised King for speeches and performances.

"We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," said King during a January speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church.