Photo: AP File
The public will now be able to visit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King’s family home in Atlanta, Georgia, as it is now part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.
“African American history is U.S. history, and the family home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King is a touchstone for us all to better understand our shared heritage,” National Park Foundation president Will Shafroth said in a press release. “The acquisition of both Dr. King’s birth home and the family home he shared with Coretta Scott King and their children advances the National Park Foundation’s commitment to telling a more comprehensive American story through national parks. With greater access to Dr. King’s life and legacy, we can learn more about this country’s past and how his work continues to echo through time.”
Located on Sunset Avenue in an Atlanta neighborhood called Vine City, the King’s family home was acquired from the estate of Coretta Scott King on January 8. Upon being purchased, the house was transferred over to the National Park Service. The National Park Foundation bought Dr. King’s birth home in November of 2018.
The home that we lived in at the time my father was assassinated, and where my mother raised us, will be made accessible to the public for the first time as part of the #MLK, Jr. National Historical Park, which is with the National Park System. More: https://t.co/naHowXBUgC pic.twitter.com/WoUsgooZLK
advertisement— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 24, 2019
“The National Park Service’s dedication to preserving historic properties is unmatched,” said Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King. “We are very pleased to have worked with the National Park Foundation to ensure that the family home that my siblings and I grew up in will be open and available to the public. My brothers and I are honored to have fulfilled my mother’s wish to allow future generations to know the story of our dad as a father, a husband, a minister, and a civil rights leader.”
Despite the government shutdown, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park will remain open until Super Bowl weekend, thanks to a grant from Delta Air Lines.