Programs & Services

THE BELOVED COMMUNITY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of good will all over the world.

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.

Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.

Dr. King’s Beloved Community was not devoid of interpersonal, group or international conflict. Instead he recognized that conflict was an inevitable part of human experience. But he believed that conflicts could be resolved peacefully and adversaries could be reconciled through a mutual, determined commitment to nonviolence. No conflict, he believed, need erupt in violence. And all conflicts in The Beloved Community should end with reconciliation of adversaries cooperating together in a spirit of friendship and goodwill.

As early as 1956, Dr. King spoke of The Beloved Community as the end goal of nonviolent boycotts. As he said in a speech at a victory rally following the announcement of a favorable U.S. Supreme Court Decision desegregating the seats on Montgomery’s busses, “the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

An ardent student of the teachings of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Dr. King was much impressed with the Mahatma’s befriending of his adversaries, most of whom professed profound admiration for Gandhi’s courage and intellect. Dr. King believed that the age-old tradition of hating one’s opponents was not only immoral, but bad strategy which perpetuated the cycle of revenge and retaliation. Only nonviolence, he believed, had the power to break the cycle of retributive violence and create lasting peace through reconciliation.

In a 1957 speech, Birth of A New Nation, Dr. King said, “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence is emptiness and bitterness.” A year later, in his first book Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. King reiterated the importance of nonviolence in attaining The Beloved Community. In other words, our ultimate goal is integration, which is genuine inter-group and inter-personal living. Only through nonviolence can this goal be attained, for the aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of the beloved community.

In his 1959 Sermon on Gandhi, Dr. King elaborated on the after-effects of choosing nonviolence over violence: “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, so that when the battle’s over, a new relationship comes into being between the oppressed and the oppressor.” In the same sermon, he contrasted violent versus nonviolent resistance to oppression. “The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of non-violence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.”

The core value of the quest for Dr. King’s Beloved Community was agape love. Dr. King distinguished between three kinds of love:  eros, “a sort of aesthetic or romantic love”; philia, “affection between friends” and agape, which he described as “understanding, redeeming goodwill for all,” an “overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative”…”the love of God operating in the human heart.” He said that “Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people…It begins by loving others for their sakes” and “makes no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both…Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.”

In his 1963 sermon, Loving Your Enemies, published in his book, Strength to Love, Dr. King addressed the role of unconditional love in struggling for the beloved Community. ‘With every ounce of our energy we must continue to rid this nation of the incubus of segregation. But we shall not in the process relinquish our privilege and our obligation to love. While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community.”

One expression of agape love in Dr. King’s Beloved Community is justice, not for any one oppressed group, but for all people. As Dr. King often said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He felt that justice could not be parceled out to individuals or groups, but was the birthright of every human being in the Beloved Community. I have fought too long hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concerns,” he said. “Justice is indivisible."

In a July 13, 1966 article in Christian Century Magazine, Dr. King affirmed the ultimate goal inherent in the quest for the Beloved Community: "I do not think of political power as an end. Neither do I think of economic power as an end. They are ingredients in the objective that we seek in life. And I think that end or that objective is a truly brotherly society, the creation of the beloved community"

In keeping with Dr. King’s teachings, The King Center embraces the conviction that the Beloved Community can be achieved through an unshakable commitment to nonviolence. We urge you to study Dr. King’s six principles and six steps of nonviolence, and make them a way life in your personal relationships, as well as a method for resolving social, economic and political conflicts, reconciling adversaries and advancing social change in your community, nation and world. With your help and God’s blessing, let us resolve to make The Beloved Community a glowing reality in the 21st Century.

Glossary of Nonviolence

AGAPE - Overflowing unconditional love for all, including adversaries, needed for nonviolent conflict-resolution. Dr. King called it “love in action…love seeking to preserve and create community…love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative.”

AHIMSA - The Hindi word for non-injury, or nonviolence made popular by Gandhi as the central value of his beliefs and leadership.

ARBITRATION - Hearing of a dispute and determining its outcome by a mutually-agreed-upon third party. Can be binding or non-binding.

BELOVED COMMUNITY - Term coined by philosopher Josiah Royce to denote an ideal community, used frequently by Dr. King to describe a society of justice, peace and harmony which can be achieved through nonviolence. In his sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 2, 1957, Dr. King said, “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.”

BOYCOTT – A campaign of withdrawal of support from a company, government or institution which is committing an injustice, such as racial discrimination. As Dr. King said, “There is nothing quite so effective as the refusal to cooperate with the forces and institutions which perpetuate evil in our communities.”

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE – The act of openly disobeying an unjust, immoral or unconstitutional law as a matter of conscience, and accepting the consequences, including submitting to imprisonment if necessary, to protest an injustice.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION - Ending of conflict, disputes or disagreements by nonviolent means with intent to achieve a “win-win” outcome for all parties.

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION - A refusal to participate in military service because of moral beliefs.

CREATIVE TENSION – In his Letter from A Birmingham Jail, Dr. King said, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue…I must confess that I am not afraid of the word, tension. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive tension that is necessary for growth… the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”

DEMONSTRATIONS - Gatherings and protest activities organized to build support for peace, justice or social reform.

DIRECT ACTION - Nonviolent resistance to injustice. More than 250 forms of nonviolent direct action have been identified, including marches, boycotts, picketing, sit-ins and prayer vigils, to name a few. See Six steps of nonviolence.

FASTING - Refusing to eat as a method of self-purification to be spiritually strengthened for nonviolent action, or as a protest.

GANDHI, MOHANDAS K. - (1869—1948) Leader of India’s nonviolent independence movement, who forced the British to quit India. Dr. King studied Gandhi’s successful campaigns and adapted some of Gandhi’s strategies in the American Civil Rights Movement. As Dr. King said of the role of Gandhi’s teachings in the Civil Rights Movement, “Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while Gandhi furnished the method.” Dr. King said “Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique for nonviolent social change.”

LAWS, JUST VS. UNJUST - A distinction made in deciding to engage in civil disobedience. A just law is created by both a majority and minority, and is binding on both. An unjust law is created by a majority that is binding on the minority, when the minority has no voice in creating the law. Dr. King said, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law…One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”

MASS MARCH - A large number of people walk in a group to a place of symbolic significance to protest an injustice.

MEDIATION - intervention in a dispute by a neutral third party with expertise on a particular issue for the purpose of securing a compromise, an agreement or reconciliation. A mediator can not impose a binding agreement.

MORAL SUASION - Appealing to the moral beliefs of an adversary or the public to convince the adversary to change behavior or attitudes.

NEGOTIATION - Process of discussing, compromising and bargaining with adversaries in good faith to secure a resolution to a conflict and reconciliation of adversaries. (See six steps of nonviolence below)

NONCOOPERATION - Refusal to participate in activities of or cooperate with individuals, governments, institutions, policies or laws that result in violence or injustice.

PACIFISM - A philosophy based on an absolute refusal to engage in violence because it is morally wrong.

PASSIVE RESISTANCE - Challenging an injustice by refusing to support or cooperate with an unjust law, action or policy. The term “passive” is misleading because passive resistance includes pro-active nonviolence, such as marches, boycotts and other forms of active protest.

PERSONAL COMMITMENT - The spiritual and psychological decision to participate in nonviolent action to eliminate an injustice. Prayer, meditation and sometimes fasting are used to deepen one’s spiritual understanding.

PETITION CAMPAIGNS - gathering of massive numbers of signatures in support of or opposed to a policy, proposal or law.

PICKETING - A group of individuals walk with signs bearing protest messages in front of a site where an injustice has been committed.

PURIFICATION - The cleansing of anger, selfishness and violent attitudes from the heart and soul in preparation for a nonviolent struggle. (See six steps of nonviolence below)

RECONCILIATION - The end goal of nonviolence. Bringing together of adversaries in a spirit of community after a conflict has been resolved. (See six steps of nonviolence below)

REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING – A willingness to accept suffering without seeking revenge or retribution. When an individual or group experiences injustice and abuse for a good cause, it will help produce a greater good.

SATYAGRAHA - Hindi for “soul force,” a term coined by Gandhi to emphasize the power of unadorned truth and love in a social struggle

SAVING FACE - Offering an adversary an alternative course of action which spares him or her embarrassment.

SELECTIVE PATRONAGE - The flip side of a boycott. Making a point of purchasing a product or service from a company that supports justice.

SIT-INS - Tactic of nonviolence in which protesters sit down at the site of an injustice and refuse to move for a specified period of time or until goals are achieved. Examples include Flint (Mich.) sit-down strike of 1936-37 in which auto workers sat down on job for 44 days in protest for union recognition and the student sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters in Greensboro, N.C. in 1960.

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE - Fundamental tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence described in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. The six principles include: (1.) Nonviolence is not passive, but requires courage; (2.) Nonviolence seeks reconciliation, not defeat of an adversary; (3.) Nonviolent action is directed at eliminating evil, not destroying an evil-doer; (4.) A willingness to accept suffering for the cause, if necessary, but never to inflict it; (5.) A rejection of hatred, animosity or violence of the spirit, as well as refusal to commit physical violence; and (6.) Faith that justice will prevail.

SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE - A sequential process of nonviolent conflict-resolution and social change based on Dr. King’s teachings. The Six Steps of Nonviolence developed by The King Center include: (1.) Information gathering and research to get the facts straight; (2.) Education of adversaries and the public about the facts of the dispute; (3.) Personal Commitment to nonviolent attitudes and action; (4.) Negotiation with adversary in a spirit of goodwill to correct injustice; (5.)Nonviolent direct action, such as marches, boycotts, mass demonstrations, picketing, sit-ins etc., to help persuade or compel adversary to work toward dispute-resolution; (6.) Reconciliation of adversaries in a win-win outcome in establishing a sense of community.

STOCKHOLDER’S CAMPAIGN - Individuals or groups purchases a small amount of stock so they can have introduce resolutions at stockholder meetings, vote as stockholders and lobby corporations to correct an injustice.

STRIKES - Organized withholding of labor to correct injustice.

TEACH-INS - An organized event or series of events, including public hearings, lectures, panel discussions, theatrical presentations, showing of films, role-playing and scenario exercises and other educational techniques, to inform public about a particular issue.

TRADE SANCTIONS - A nation levies import taxes on products from another nation, or bans importation of a nation’s products altogether.

UNEARNED SUFFERING - See REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - See “AGAPE.”

VIGILS - A form of protest in which individuals and groups stand, sit, walk, or pray at a site linked to an injustice or symbolically associated with principles of freedom, justice or peace.

 

Triple Evils

The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and WAR are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. The issues change in accordance with the political and social climate of our nation and world. Some contemporary manifestations are in italics below:

POVERTY - materialism, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums…

"There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty ... The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for 'the least of these."

RACISM - prejudice, apartheid, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, discrimination against differently abled, stereotypes...

"Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits. Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the out-group."

WAR - militarism, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, media violence, drugs, child abuse...

"A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

To work against the Triple Evils, you need to: develop a nonviolent frame of mind as described in the "Six Principles of Nonviolence" and use the Kingian model for social action outlined in the "Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.”

Source: "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1967.

The Six Principles

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE - Fundamental tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence described in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. The six principles include:

(1.) Nonviolence is not passive, but requires courage

(2.) Nonviolence seeks reconciliation, not defeat of an adversary

(3.) Nonviolent action is directed at eliminating evil, not destroying an evil-doer

(4.) A willingness to accept suffering for the cause, if necessary, but never to inflict it

(5.) A rejection of hatred, animosity or violence of the spirit, as well as refusal to commit physical violence

(6.) Faith that justice will prevail.

 

The Six Steps of Nonviolence

SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE - A sequential process of nonviolent conflict-resolution and social change based on Dr. King’s teachings. The Six Steps of Nonviolence developed by The King Center include:

(1.) Information gathering and research to get the facts straight

(2.) Education of adversaries and the public about the facts of the dispute

(3.) Personal Commitment to nonviolent attitudes and action

(4.) Negotiation with adversary in a spirit of goodwill to correct injustice

(5.) Nonviolent direct action, such as marches, boycotts, mass demonstrations, picketing, sit-ins etc., to help persuade or compel adversary to work toward dispute-resolution

(6.) Reconciliation of adversaries in a win-win outcome in establishing a sense of community.

 

The Triple Evils (Racism, Poverty, and War)

Triple Evils

The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and WAR are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. The issues change in accordance with the political and social climate of our nation and world. Some contemporary manifestations are in italics below:

POVERTY - materialism, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums…

"There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty ... The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for 'the least of these."

RACISM - prejudice, apartheid, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, discrimination against differently abled, stereotypes...

"Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits. Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the out-group."

WAR - militarism, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, media violence, drugs, child abuse...

"A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

To work against the Triple Evils, you need to: develop a nonviolent frame of mind as described in the "Six Principles of Nonviolence" and use the Kingian model for social action outlined in the "Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.”

Source: "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1967.

Dr. King’s “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence” (need page)

Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (need page)

OVERVIEW

The King Library and Archives in Atlanta is the largest repository of primary source materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement in the world. Significant records which document the social, cultural, economic and political impact of the civil rights movement are housed at the King Library and Archives.

The King Library and Archives’ mission is to promote the appropriate application of archival principles in the preservation, processing, arrangement and description of materials relevant to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the modern civil rights movement. The King Library and Archives serves to: (1) promote research and study on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the modern civil rights movement, (2) acquire, promote and preserve information produced by or about Dr. King and the modern civil rights movement and (3) promote dissemination of information on Dr. King and the modern civil rights movement through the preparation of brochures, guides and exhibits.

The collection of the King Library and Archives consists of the papers of Dr. King and those of the organization he co-founded, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The archives also holds the records of 8 major civil rights organizations and the records of several individuals active in the civil rights movement. In addition, the archives includes more than 200 oral history interviews with Dr. King’s teachers, friends, family and civil rights associates. These holdings exist today as the main link to understanding the events during the civil rights movement. The King Library and Archives has played a crucial role in assuring the survival and preservation of many of the documents and artifacts of the civil rights movement through several documentation efforts

MAJOR COLLECTIONS

Organizational Records

The Papers of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) 1944-1968
The Records of the Coordinating Council of Community Organization 1964-1968
The Records of the Delta Ministry 1963-1971
The Records of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) 1964-1965
The National Lawyers Guild Records (NLG) 1936-1968*
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference Records (SCLC) 1954-1970
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Records (SNCC) 1959-1972
The Records of the United States National Students Association Southern Project 1957-1969

Manuscript Collection

The Papers of J.T. Alexander 1891-1960s
The Papers of Randolph Battle 1962-1968
The Julian Bond Papers 1964-1968
The Ben Brown Papers 1952-1970
The Papers of Johnnie Carr 1956-1979
The Septima P. Clark Papers 1963-1967
The Papers of Fred Gray 1956-1964
The Papers of Hazel Gregory 1956-1965
The Papers of Hamilton Holmes 1955-1964
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968
The Papers of Howard Moore 1964-1968
The Papers of Fred W. Shuttlesworth 1953-1969

Audio-Visual and Oral History

Collections

The Civil Rights Film Collection
The Civil Rights Oral History Collection
Conversations from Wingspread Collection
The James Forman Collection
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Tape Collection
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Speaks Collection
The Anne Romaine Oral History Collection
The Donald H. Smith Oral History Collection
The Maggie Wanza Collection
The Wesleyan Tapes
The Hosea Williams Collection

* Access may be restricted

The Records are available for historical research by appointment at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc.

King Library and Archives
Hours of operation
9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Monday through Friday

For appointments and more information contact:
Cynthia P. Lewis
Director of Archives, King Library and Archives
Phone: 404.526.8983 or 404.526.8986
Fax: 404.526.8914

Email: archives@thekingcenter.org
clewis@thekingcenter.org

 

ARCHIVAL INTERNSHIP

The King Library and Archives also offers an internship program for college students. This internship provides an excellent opportunity to learn about Dr. King and The Civil Rights Movement. Participants will also have the opportunity for archival collaboration and discussion .

DESCRIPTION:
1. Assist researchers in using the archival holdings. Assist with inventorying and organizing of drawings, paintings, artifacts, and other three dimensional memorabilia . Assist with design and preparation of brochures and informational leaflets.

4. Assist with special projects, selected activities and provide clerical support .

Update comprehensive bibliographies on Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

Type of Venture : Unpaid Educational Internship - (Academic Credit)

Contact:: Cynthia P. Lewis, Director of Archives

King Library & Archives.
Phone: 404.526.8986 or 404.526.8983
Fax: 404.526.8914
Email: archives@thekingcenter.org
clewis@thekingcenter.org

Major (s) All Majors

Hours 15-20 Per Week

The King Papers Project

The King Papers Project is a major King Center program which addresses our unique historical mission to promote and preserve the legacy of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement.

The King Papers Project, which is being conducted at Stanford University under the direction of the Editor, Dr. Clayborne Carson, was initiated as an archival project of The King Center by Coretta Scott King to make an important contribution to the understanding of Dr. King's leadership, his intellectual development and his theological and philosophic commitment to nonviolence. The King Papers Project was conceptualized, designed, and implemented as a King Center program to facilitate the dissemination of information about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King and the origins and development of the Civil Rights Movement, its distinctive tactics, strategies, ideologies and leadership styles.

Click here to visit The King Papers Project

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HISTORIC SITE

The King Center and Founder Mrs. Coretta Scott King have been actively involved in community improvement in Sweet Auburn and the Old Fourth Ward since 1967 when Mrs. King approached then Mayor Ivan Allen to help save Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth home from an urban renewal/removal project. At the time, she also asked for assistance in building a facility to house Dr. King’s papers. Mayor Allen led the Atlanta City Council in passing an ordinance designating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District in the area later that year.

From that time until 1980, The King Center and it’s Board of Directors, with the leadership of the King Family, worked through the process of planning, land acquisition and a capital campaign for the various projects that would later become the Historic Site. In 1981, Mrs. King secured a U.S. Housing and Urban Development planning grant to establish the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) that would be sponsored and managed by The King Center to develop housing renovation and restoration projects in the area. HDDC would become one of The King Center’s first programs and would leave an indelible legacy to the Sweet Auburn community, laying a firm foundation for what would later be developed.

Today the King Center, which was the original developer of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site and Preservation District, has significant holdings in the District, including The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Freedom Hall Complex (and surrounding land), and Dr. King’s birth home.

DESIGNATIONS
Martin Luther King, Jr., Historic District - May 2, 1974
Sweet Auburn Historic District - December 8, 1976
National Historic Site & Preservation District - October 10, 1980

FREEDOM HALL

Open All Year
Open From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location - 449 Auburn Avenue, NE

Brief History
Freedom Hall is The King Center’s primary exhibition facility. It contains a Grand Foyer, large theater/conference auditorium, bookstore and resource center and various works of art-domestic and international. The Grand Foyer is decorated with art from Africa and Georgia. The wood that lines the staircase is from the sapeli tree which grows in Nigeria. On the north wall hangs “Freedom and Justice”, a relief from the Republic of Zambia, given by His Excellency, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia.

 

THE ETERNAL FLAME

Outdoors - Open All Year

The Eternal Flame symbolizes the continuing effort to realize Dr. King’s ideals for the “Beloved Community” which requires lasting personal commitment that cannot weaken when faced with obstacles.

 

DR. KING’S CRYPT

Outdoors-Open All Year

In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was carried upon a farm wagon drawn by mules to Southview Cemetary. In 1970, Dr. King’s remains were removed from Southview Cemetary to now what is the current King Center campus.  In 2006 his crypt was rebuilt to also hold the remains of Mrs. Coretta Scott King.  Dr. & Mrs. King’s crypt is constructed of Georgia marble which acknowledges his southern roots.

 

DR. KING'S BIRTH HOME

Open All Year from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location - 501 Auburn Avenue, NE

Special Programs - The Birth Home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., may be visited only with a park ranger led tour. The tours are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Register for the tour at the National Park Service Visitor Center in person upon arrival to the park. The tour is strictly limited to 15 people per tour to keep the experience more personal. They fill up fast on weekends and holidays.

Brief History Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 at 501 Auburn Avenue, the home of his maternal grandparents. For the next twelve years he lived here with his grandparents, parents, siblings, other family members and boarders. The home is located in the residential section of "Sweet Auburn", the center of black Atlanta. In 1967, Mrs. King approached then Mayor Ivan Allen to help save Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth home from an urban renewal/removal project and in 1974 the Birth Home was purchased by the King Center for restoration.

 

HISTORIC EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH (HERITAGE SANCTUARY)

Open All Year Open From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Location - 407 Auburn Avenue, NE

Closures - The church is closed on Sunday mornings. The church may be closed to the public for funerals at the request of the congregation. The church will also be closed prior to special events open to the public to allow any setup time for the event.

Special Programs - First Saturday Concert Series

Brief History In this sacred place were sown the seeds of greatness from which Martin Luther King, Jr. blossomed. In 1893, Dr. King’s maternal grandfather, Rev. A.D. Williams, became Ebenezer’s second pastor. He was founder of the Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP and its second president. Rev. Williams helped petition this city for a Black secondary school and as a result Booker T. Washington High School was built.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. became Ebenezer’s third pastor in 1933 and so served until he retired in 1975. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as co-pastor in 1947 until he attended Crozer Theological Seminary in September 1948. In 1960, until his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. again co-pastored Ebenezer Baptist Church.

 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE VISITOR CENTER

Open All Year 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Phone - 404-331-5198 ext. 3017

Location - 450 Auburn Avenue, NE

Special Programs - A New Time, A New Voice shown in the theater on the hour. A 30 minute video about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. Courage To Lead shown in the theater on the half hour. A 15 minute video that talks about the children involved in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and how the children of today view the movement.

Exhibits - Courage To Lead is the main exhibit in the visitor center. While visiting six circular pods read Dr, King's own words describing different periods of the first seventy years of the 20th century. Take time to listen and watch the five minute videos in each pod highlighting the period. Children Of Courage is about children in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s for the children of today. It gives examples of the children that marched and how the youth of today can live positive lives.

 

King Center Bookstore & Resource Center

Proceeds from your purchases support the mission of The King Center in educating the world about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy and methods of nonviolence in order to create the Beloved Community. When you're in Atlanta, visit our two conveniently located Bookstore & Resource Centers!

Locations:
Freedom Hall 449 Auburn Avenue, NE
Atlanta, GA
30312

National Park Service Visitors Center
450 Auburn Avenue, NE
Atlanta, GA 30312

Days:
For your convenience, both locations are open 7 days a week.

All exhibits, tours, and shops are closed on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day.

Regular Hours:
9:00AM to 5:00PM

Summer Hours:
9:00AM to 6:00PM (Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Phone:
(404) 526-8923

Fax:
(404) 526-8949

E-mail:
shop@thekingcenter.org

Entrance Fee
Free!

There are no fees charged but donations are accepted

Coming Soon

Kingian Involvement In Nonviolence Growth (KING) The King Program Coming Soon!!!!

April 4th Youth Commemorative Service

On April 4, 2008, the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, The King Center cosponsored the 40th Anniversary Youth Commemorative Service, bringing together more than 2,000 high school and college students in the King Historic Site, where they received introductory training in Dr. King’s philosophy and strategy of nonviolence and pledged their personal commitments to Kingian nonviolence as a way of life. The Keynote Speaker was Elder Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King.

April 4th Photo Gallery (Coming Soon!!)

Dutchversity

On May 1, 2008, The King Center and Dutchversity entered into a partnership called Project Euroversity to promote diversity, equality and social justice in Europe. The program began as a pilot project in The Netherlands, designed to tap the power of television to promote a range of diversity initiatives and values, including: positive multi-cultural role models for youth; greater understanding, friendship and cooperation between people of different races and cultures; honoring adult and youth leaders who promote diversity. www.dutchversity.nl

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

On January 15, 2008, the King Center and the Center for Disease Control signed a partnership.

As the institutional guardian of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, The King Center is deeply concerned with public health issues, particularly as they relate to race relations and violence prevention. The King Center’s experience in violence prevention serves as a significant resource for the Centers for Disease Control, which has recognized, violence as one of America's leading public health problems. The C.D.C. is equally committed to ending all forms of discrimination and demographic disparities in disease prevention and treatment. Our partnership is committed to build a multicultural consensus in support of disease prevention and treatment, verified by the elimination of disparate patterns of health indicators, such as infant mortality, illness survival rates and longevity. The King Center/Centers for Disease Control partnership is an important step forward in developing cooperative efforts to help prevent and treat diseases and in diverse communities. In meeting this challenge, we will sow the seeds of a more unified nation, where people of all races and cultures can live together in health and harmony.

Corporation for National and Community Service

As the institutional guardian of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, The King Center wholeheartedly joins in partnership with the nation’s premier institution dedicated to the promotion of community service, the Corporation for National and Community Service, to insure that King Holiday community service projects and educational programs be conducted in keeping with the spirit and integrity of Dr. King’s teachings, and his philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. We envision a range of joint collaborations through: information management; fund raising; corporate sponsorships; nonprofit partnerships; and development of promotions, marketing collateral and licensing to enhance the quality of community service on the King Holiday, as well as to maximize the number of individuals who serve their communities, along with the number of persons who benefit from community service.

Aetna

The King Center and Aetna co-sponsored A Town Hall Meeting on January 12, 2008. The Town Hal l Meeting was a panel discussion with an audience question and answer segment focusing on Childhood Obesity in the Minority Community. Celebrity Chef Marvin Woods will demonstrate healthy cooking techniques and provide samples to the audience. Also included on the panel are a pediatrician, CDC physician, a dietician, and representative of the Andrew and Walter Young YMCA. The Town Hall meeting concluded with a BMI (Body Mass Index) Screening given free of charge by the Everest Institute.

In January 2009, the King Center and Aetna will sponsor a Health Forum with a specific focus on Childhood Obesity, Asthma, Diabetes, and HIV/AIDs.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO)

As on of the most creative and innovative orchestras in North America, the 95 member Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is complemented by the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the widely recognized Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Serving as the corner stone for musical performance and training in an area extending far beyond the city’s borders, the ASO reaches nearly half a million people through its various concert series and its diverse initiative in music education and outreach.

Each year the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and The King Center host a musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commemorating the life and work of the celebrated civil rights leader. The concert “A King Celebration” is held on the Morehouse College campus. www.atlantasymphony.org

Hands on Atlanta

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Summit is an innovative three-day summit exploring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s messages of service, activism, diversity and nonviolence that is held in the King Historic District in Atlanta, GA. The events are free and open to the public. Hands on Atlanta is a non-profit organization that helps individuals, families and corporate and community groups find flexible volunteer opportunities at more than 400 community-based agencies and schools. Hands On Atlanta is an affiliate of CityCares, an international network of volunteer organizations with 30 affiliates in the United States and the Philippines.

The King Center and Hands On Atlanta join efforts during the annual King Holiday Observance to promote Dr. King’s teachings, and to call concerned citizens to action through volunteerism and to help find nonviolent solutions to strengthen community. www.handsonatlanta.org

MLK National Historic Site

The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site includes a number of facilities that are operated in partnership with the National Park Service, Ebenezer Baptist Church and The King Center. Within these facilities the visitor can learn about Dr. King's life and his influence on others. The Peace Plaza is the area between the National Park Service Visitor Center and Auburn Avenue. The focal points of the beautifully landscaped plaza area are the International World Peace Rose Garden, which includes inspirational messages of peace composed by students from local Atlanta schools, and a flowing water fountain. Also located in the plaza is the "BEHOLD" statue. http://www.nps.gov/malu/

Ebenezer Baptist Church

Throughout its long history, Ebenezer Baptist Church has been a spiritual home to many citizens of the "Sweet Auburn" community. Its most famous member, Martin Luther King, Jr., was baptized as a child in the church. After giving a trial sermon to the congregation at Ebenezer at the age of 18 Martin was ordained as a minister. In 1960 Dr. King, Jr. became a co-pastor of Ebenezer with his father, "Daddy" King. He remained in that position until his death in 1968. As a final farewell to his spiritual home Dr. King, Jr.'s funeral was held in the church.

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. retired in 1975, after 44 years of service, The Rev. Dr. Joseph Roberts Jr. began his ministry of outreach, uplifted faith and stewardship as Ebenezer’s fourth senior pastor. Standing on this firm foundation, the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock began his pastorate of Ebenezer on October 1, 2005. http://www.historicebenezer.org