Belafonte, MLK estate settle document lawsuit

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NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers say Harry Belafonte will retain possession of historical documents he acquired during his friendship with Martin Luther King Jr.

Belafonte and the King estate said Friday they have settled a lawsuit.

The singer had sued the estate in Manhattan federal court in October to establish rights to the documents. They include an outline of a Vietnam War speech by King and notes for a speech he never got to deliver in Memphis, Tenn.

There also is a condolence letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson to King’s wife after the civil rights leader’s 1968 assassination.

The lawsuit had alleged that Belafonte was preparing to auction the items in 2008 when the estate “astonishingly” blocked it.

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