Atlanta Day 7: Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site – Part 1

When driving to the Fox Brothers BBQ, we drove past the Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site. Since we did not have anything planned for our last day in Atlanta, we decided to visit this historic site since we were in the neighbourhood.

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I was surprised to see the Gandhi statue when we walked from the car park to the front door. Apparently, Dr. and Mrs King travelled to India in 1959 as guests of Prime Minister Nehru to study the nonviolent teachings of Mahatma Ghandhi.

Dr. King credited his success to the philosophy of nonviolence he learned from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, and others.

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There is a mural depicting the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. right across the front entrance of the National Park Service Visitor Center.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site was established in 1980. The goal is to preserve the places where Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, lived, worked, worshipped, and is buried.

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One of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words of wisdom.

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This is the Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary. This is the newer Ebenezer Church built to accommodate the growing members. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sister still attends this church.

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This is the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Heritage Sanctuary; the original Ebenezer church. This is where the grandfather and father of Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastors. Both of the pastors had served 81 years combined in this church.

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This is the basement of the Ebenezer church where Martin Luther King, Jr. would have stood and served. He co-pastored in this church along with his father, Martin Luther King.

The only church that Martin Luther King, Jr. served as a pastor was Dexter Ave Baptist Church in Montgomery.

Here we were given a special presentation of the life story of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The presenter concluded with the recitation of the powerful speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have A Dream”.

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The sanctuary of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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I can’t recall if this is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s father or grandfather. Their photos were on the stained glass windows on both sides of the sanctuary to commemorate their life long service in the church.

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A clock stood still at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary as the time when Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral was held.

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A better view of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church from across the street.

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In the 126 years history of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, only five pastors, including the current one served in the church.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. etranger

    That looks really interesting! I did know the part about Ghandi. MLK Jr. was allowed to sleep on Ghandi’s mat when they visited India.

    Must have been impressive to hear the speech right in the church.

  2. Jean

    I remember as a child, seeing and hearing King’s famous speech, “I have a dream”. I grew up in the 1960’s in Ontario.

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