3. Tour the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
Two blocks on Auburn Avenue are now protected as a National Historic Site. They include the birthplace of the civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr. at 501 Auburn Avenue, which dates from 1895, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church at 407-413 Auburn Avenue, in which he and his father were ministers. Free tours of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home are offered by the National Park Service. There are several other places to go in the historic site. Immediately adjoining, in the Freedom Hall Complex, is King’s grave. Between his birthplace and Ebenezer Baptist Church is Fire Station No. 6, which played a role in the life of the neighborhood and where volunteers tell stories of life here when King was growing up. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is also in this area.
4. Center for Civil and Human Rights
Atlanta’s place in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is marked by a beautifully conceived interpretation center/museum that places this epic struggle into the greater worldwide movement for human rights. The Center for Civil and Human Rights explores the history of Jim Crow laws with actual television newscasts, speeches, photos, videos, personal accounts, and interactive experiences that bring visitors into the struggle. Portraits and stories of their work honor men and women who lost their lives in the struggle.
