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| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace home |
One of the side benefits of being somewhere is that it is nearby to somewhere. Being inclined to historical areas and places, we often roam to these places to enjoy some power of place and being at the right place at the right time. In this instance, we found ourselves in near Atlanta, Georgia, about the time of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday. The only thing that was off was the partial government shut down that closed most of the National Parks, so at first it seemed that the holiday was going to be quashed by denying access to the interior of King's childhood residence, but a generous grant from the Delta Airlines Foundation (which has a large presence and is a major employer in the Atlanta area) provided funding for the site to be open for 2 weeks from the holiday until after Superbowl LIII which was held in Atlanta this year. So instead of being disappointed, we decided to impulsively drive to Atlanta the day of the holiday to explore the site and learn a little bit more about the famous leader.
As to be expected, the event was well attended and overwhelmed official parking and a few streets were closed to parking, so finding a place to park was hard to find. We set about getting our trophies: a Junior Ranger book that we will complete later to send in and the Park stamp. We toured the first racially integrated firehouse in Atlanta, quickly browsed the King Center, viewed Dr. King and his wife's tombs amid the fountain, quickly browsed the visitor center, toured the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and viewed his birthplace. It was a very superficial visit in part because we had our moody "threenager" as well as the holiday crush.
Nevertheless being a part of a historic event in place and in time for someone who made a huge impact on American culture and politics was very important. It is remarkable that the birthplace, his first church, the first racially integrated firehouse, and final resting place are on the same street. It makes it unique that this "cradle-to-grave" and everything in between is all in one place.
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| Inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached. |
It is abundantly clear that more time is needed to really appreciate the enormity of the offerings by the King Center and the National Historic Park, and that our visit barely qualified as a survey. Rather than evaluate the interpretive quality of the site, there are some thoughts that bear sharing.
Viewing the struggle for civil rights in the United States is something like seems out of sync with the rhetoric. It's like the United States is guilty of double talking: Land of the Free but only for white people. On one hand, it feels like the past is a foreign land where segregation seems so blatantly incorrect and wrong when trying to explain it to a child when the best explanation is "well, that's the way things were." On the other, many people have benefited from that struggle and example set by the brave men, women, students, and children who stood up to something that they knew to be wrong and fought hard to gain equality and justice. Perhaps it is shocking how hard they had to fight to gain it. Dr. King, while being the face and the icon of the movement, is not the only person who led it or even came up with it, yet his influence should not be understated in view of the fact there are so many other bright lights that stood with him, guided him, helped him, and supported him- so many in fact that to name them all would take more time than I have to devote to such a task. It's also sad to say that his work for a just society still remains just out of reach for many.
For the very little that we had to opportunity to enjoy, it will be worth returning to when the next opportunity allows it to be so.
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