Martin Luther King, Jr Center – Atlanta, Georgia
If you are visiting Atlanta, a must see activity is heading to The King Center, a facility dedicated to the memory and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year marks the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination so my family had to visit the center. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi who was a role model for Dr. King is located at one of the entrances of the center and the Civil Rights Walk of Fame. We took in the kid -friendly “Children of Courage” exhibit is a great way to go deeper into Dr. King’s life. Also I recommend for tween/teenagers is to sit and view the film that is focused on children of the civil rights era and how they played a part. Did you know that children marched and were arrested so their parents could go to work and not lose their jobs? Many events triggered the nation’s horror of the injustice in the South and seeing children carted off to jail was one of them. This is something they don’t teach you in the history class.
Afterwards, we ventured to see the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (corner of Auburn Ave. & Jackson Street) where Dr. King was baptized as a child in the church and was also a co-pastor of Ebenezer with his father.
On the way to Dr. King’s home (501 Auburn Avenue, NE), we stopped by the crypt of Dr. and Mrs. King, Eternal Flame, Freedom Walkway and Reflecting Pool. I will admit and so was everyone else in my family at how disappointing this was to see. Sad is probably the word to use and certainly not enough was done to honor Dr. King and Mrs. King for all the civil rights work they did in their lifetime.
Dr. King’s home on Auburn Avenue is located in the section commonly known as “Sweet Auburn”, the center of black Atlanta. Note that his home of Dr. King may be visited only with a park ranger led tour, which is filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Get there early, we did not get there early enough and the first available tour was at 3 pm. Unfortunately, we could not wait another 4 hours for the tour.
The King Center
Location: 449 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30312
Phone: 404.526.8900
Admission and parking: FREE
Information: thekingcenter.org
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post. This is one of those national sites every American should visit.
