None more so than her mother, Christine King Farris. She had more than 200 to choose from. “Mom believed in the fashion of hats and she was very stylish,” Farris said. “Some hats were a whisper.

King’s sister, Christine King Farris, presided over the service. Gwendolyn Boyd, president of Alabama State University, was to give the keynote address. David Oyelowo, who played King in the ...