I was shocked how easy it was to get to the park and then find parking. We visited all of the sites but only 2 were open: the temporary visitor center and the King Center. The other 2 were closed for renovation.
I was bummed that the visitor center was closed, I was looking forward to seeing it.
Boyhood home
Ebenezer Baptist Church was the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement and the spiritual home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King was baptized, ordained, and co-pastored with his father from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. The church served as a center for nonviolent organizing.
Some of my favorite MLK quotes
- “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
- “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”
- “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
- “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
- “Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love…violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.”
- “I am still convinced that nonviolence is both the most practically sound and morally excellent way to grapple with the age-old problem of racial injustice.”
- “Hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love.”
- “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?
- “The time is always right to do what is right.”
This old firehouse is the temporary visitor center.
King and Gandhi: 2 men who changed the world without violence.
MLK accomplished incredible things through peaceful demonstration.
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956): Following Rosa Parks’ arrest, King led the 382-day boycott of the city’s segregated bus system, which resulted in a Supreme Court ruling declaring bus segregation unconstitutional.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (1957): King helped found this organization to coordinate protests, serving as its first president and using the influence of Black churches to support nonviolent civil rights efforts.
The March on Washington (1963): He was a primary leader of this massive protest, where he delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, emphasizing racial equality.
Civil Rights Legislation (1964–1965): King was instrumental in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public facilities, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which secured voting rights.
Nobel Peace Prize (1964): At age 35, King became the youngest person at the time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination.
Fair Housing Act (1968): Following his assassination, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing.
He was only 39 when he was assassinated, what else might he have accomplished?
BE KIND TO OTHERS, STEVE