Atlanta, Georgia (Miles to Date:10,350)
Today we planned to visit the Dr Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site close to downtown Atlanta. Rather than being a single building this historic site is built around a street, Auburn Street, in Atlanta. This street is home to the birth place of Dr King, his burial site and the Ebeneezer Baptist Church where he and his father were both pastors. There is a large visitor centre close to the street that shows some films covering the life and times of Dr King and has some fascinating exhibits detailing different periods of his lifer, with excerpts of some of his speeches. Myself and Karen were deeply moved by much of this, and we felt very solemn as we toured this, in fact during the film of Dr King's life we were fighting back the tears. Particularly moving was the speech he gave in Memphis on the eve of his assassination on 4th April 1968 – in which he talked about his death and what he wished to be remembered for.
After leaving the visitor centre we crossed Auburn Street to look at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church, which is a very plain building but nonetheless its association with the King family seemingly gives it a strangely spiritual aura. Unfortunately the church itself is closed to the public as it is being restored to how it looked in the 1950s and 1960s. We took a couple of photos and then moved a few yards down the street to where a wonderful, water based memorial (which it totally open to the public) is home to the final resting place of Martin Luther King Jr. and his spouse Coretta Scott King. Coretta King had planned most of the memorial site prior to MLK's death....she felt his involvement in the Movement would inevitably lead to his untimely death-what a sad prospect for any wife to face.
Today we planned to visit the Dr Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site close to downtown Atlanta. Rather than being a single building this historic site is built around a street, Auburn Street, in Atlanta. This street is home to the birth place of Dr King, his burial site and the Ebeneezer Baptist Church where he and his father were both pastors. There is a large visitor centre close to the street that shows some films covering the life and times of Dr King and has some fascinating exhibits detailing different periods of his lifer, with excerpts of some of his speeches. Myself and Karen were deeply moved by much of this, and we felt very solemn as we toured this, in fact during the film of Dr King's life we were fighting back the tears. Particularly moving was the speech he gave in Memphis on the eve of his assassination on 4th April 1968 – in which he talked about his death and what he wished to be remembered for.
After leaving the visitor centre we crossed Auburn Street to look at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church, which is a very plain building but nonetheless its association with the King family seemingly gives it a strangely spiritual aura. Unfortunately the church itself is closed to the public as it is being restored to how it looked in the 1950s and 1960s. We took a couple of photos and then moved a few yards down the street to where a wonderful, water based memorial (which it totally open to the public) is home to the final resting place of Martin Luther King Jr. and his spouse Coretta Scott King. Coretta King had planned most of the memorial site prior to MLK's death....she felt his involvement in the Movement would inevitably lead to his untimely death-what a sad prospect for any wife to face.We spent some time there just contemplating the huge impact this family had on society even beyond their involvement in the Civil Right Movement. The courage of the King’s and their total belief in non-violent protest is inspirational and the more I learnt about the man the higher my regard for him became.
Finally we had a guided tour of the simple four bedroom home, just a few yards from where he is buried, where Dr King was born and raised. The house is still owned by the King family but they let it be run and maintained by the National Park Service. It is, as you might expect, a functional yet comfortable family home – the stories retold by the Ranger helped build further the picture of Dr King the man. It is all too easy just to see the legend but for me it is the character of the whole that is of most interest.
We left feeling sad at the untimely death of great man but at the same time we felt that from the time here and in Alabama we had got a sense that, as is often the case, a senseless death can often create martyrdom and a legend that amplifies the cause for which they are fighting. It was now time to return our rental car and pickup our repaired van – or so we thought. As it turned out the part the dealership thought it had in stock was unfortunately not to be found so we somewhat frustrated – and they were embarrassed (which did not help our cause one iota). So we had to accept the challenge of finding a part elsewhere and move on.
Finally we had a guided tour of the simple four bedroom home, just a few yards from where he is buried, where Dr King was born and raised. The house is still owned by the King family but they let it be run and maintained by the National Park Service. It is, as you might expect, a functional yet comfortable family home – the stories retold by the Ranger helped build further the picture of Dr King the man. It is all too easy just to see the legend but for me it is the character of the whole that is of most interest.We left feeling sad at the untimely death of great man but at the same time we felt that from the time here and in Alabama we had got a sense that, as is often the case, a senseless death can often create martyrdom and a legend that amplifies the cause for which they are fighting. It was now time to return our rental car and pickup our repaired van – or so we thought. As it turned out the part the dealership thought it had in stock was unfortunately not to be found so we somewhat frustrated – and they were embarrassed (which did not help our cause one iota). So we had to accept the challenge of finding a part elsewhere and move on.
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