This week (January 11 to 18) the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change hosts many special events in celebration and appreciation of the civil rights icon.The theme of the King Week Celebration activities is “Keeping the Dream Alive Remembering the Past: Forging towards the Future”, with an event every day centered on Rev. King’s teachings and principles. The March on Auburn Avenue and the Rally in the King National Park is on Monday (January 18).
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will pay its annual tribute, "A King Celebration," at the King Chapel of Morehouse College. Other events include the Salute to Greatness Awards banquet, which honors individuals committed to MLK's ideals, a Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, as well as exhibits, children's activities and concerts throughout the city.
In the early 1960s Atlanta became the cultural catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The activists quickly found their spiritual center within the Sweet Auburn district. Today, Auburn Avenue features the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Martin Luther King National Park Service Visitors Center, King’s birth home, his and his wife’s Coretta Scott King’s tombs, and Ebenezer Baptist Church where he and his father preached.
In 2004, the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame was unveiled at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Using genuine shoes from each of the honorees to create the footsteps, the Walk of Fame inducted 17 inaugural members including Jimmy Carter, Jesse J. Jackson Sr., Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks and Andrew Young. Each year, more foot soldiers are added to the Walk of Fame. There are hundreds of additional spaces designated for future placements of worthy footsteps.
For more information about top events in Georgia, take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Georgia at www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-georgia.html
Or, take a look at the official web site for Atlanta at www.atlanta.net/