One of the oldest African American Congregational churches in the United States, First Congregational Church of Atlanta dates back to 1867 when former slaves and free men and women of color gathered together to hold services. The congregation received support from the American Missionary Association, a group of Northern African Americans and whites who traveled to the South and helped establish schools and churches in the aftermath of the Civil War.
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History is situated in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Historic District and is part of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. The reference and archival collections housed within the facility are dedicated to both the study and preservation of African and African American history and culture. The research library was recognized by the state of Georgia in 2001 when it was awarded the Governor's Award in the Humanities.
The African-American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum is situated in downtown Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Historic District. The museum includes numerous exhibits and programs related to the local, regional and national experience of people of color. The museum also offers programs for children and community lectures and other events that present the African American perspective throughout history. The museum was established by Dan Moore in hopes of highlighting the contributions of African Americans. Since it opened in 1978, thousands of visitors from more than forty countries have toured the museum.
The Atlanta Daily World Building once housed a newspaper of that name, founded in 1928 by William Alexander Scott II, a Morehouse College graduate. The newspaper is the city's oldest continually operating African-American newspaper. While the newspaper has moved their offices to Peachtree Street in Atlanta, the building has been adaptively re-used. The building almost was lost to demolition in 2012, when the tornado-damaged, vacant structure was going to make way for a new residential complex with 91 units. Thankfully, the Atlanta Urban Design Commission denied the plans, leading to the building's reuse as two condominiums upstairs and two commercial spaces on the ground floor.
The Royal Peacock, located in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn historic district, opened in 1937 as the "Top Hat Club". The club was widely known as "Club Beautiful" and became one of the most popular clubs in the country for African Americans. The club was purchased by Carrie B. Cunningham, operator of the "Royal Hotel and Restaurant," in 1949 and renamed "The Royal Peacock." Shows scheduled on Wednesday and Saturday nights were reserved for whites only. The club is still in operation today and has hosted a number of musicians including Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King, the Supremes, and Gladys Knight and the Pips.
In April of 1960 SNCC was created to fight segregation using non-violence and direct action in conjunction with other prominent civil rights organizations and leaders such as the SCLC and Martin Luther King Jr. Their national office was located in Atlanta, Georgia, and the organization included mostly students and other young people. Like the SCLC, SNCC received national attention for its civil rights efforts and achievements, but as the civil rights movement continued a change in the organization’s leadership and philosophy led to SNCC’s decline. By the end of the 1960s SNCC was no longer in existence but its legacy continues today.
Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1847 and is the oldest predominantly African-American congregation in the Metro Atlanta area. Reverend Joseph Woods was appointed the first pastor of the reorganized Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta in 1866.The Big Bethel AME Church building on Auburn Avenue was completed by 1891; the former church building (just Bethel, without the "Big") was a brick building immediately to the west, which no longer stands. Most of Big Bethel's interior was destroyed by fire in 1920 and rebuilt. All but one of the outer walls of the massive stone building are original.
The Herndon Building was once one of the most impressive structures in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta, Georgia. It was built by Alonzo Herndon, former slave and founder of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, in 1924 and housed many offices including that of the NAACP. It had 6 store fronts, 60 offices, a hotel, and its own gas station. It was torn down in 2008 after being severely damaged by a tornado.
John Wesley Dobbs Plaza occupies the corner of Auburn Avenue and Fort Street in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Dobbs was born in Marietta, Georgia in 1882 and grew up in a poor rural community. Dobbs moved to Atlanta when he was fifteen. By the 1930's, Dobbs was a local voice for increasing voter registration in the African-American community. He died in 1961, twelve years before his grandson, Maynard Jackson, Jr., was elected the first African-American mayor of Atlanta. The plaza named for Dobbs opened in 1996 and features an interactive bronze sculpture where you can "see through his eyes" along Auburn Avenue.
This is the national office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded in 1957 by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King created the organization to help religious men such as himself fight for the civil rights of all people, especially African Americans, in the U.S. Although the SCLC did not directly organize protests against the ongoing segregation in the South, they supported non-violent direct action groups such as SNCC who did organize these protests. Through its non-violent philosophy and its presence in the background of these protests, the SCLC became one of the leading civil rights organizations in the 1960s. The organization is still in existence today and is designed to protect the human rights of all Americans inside and outside of the South.
Constructed in 1937 under the leadership of Mason and community leader John Wesley Dobbs, this building was home to one of the most important secular organizations in Atlanta's Black community. Dobbs used this building as his headquarters throughout the 1930, 40s, and 50s, a time when he negotiated with the city's political leaders on behalf of the city's African American residents. The building was also the home of WERD radio in the 1950s. Established in the 1920s, WERD was the first Black-owned raido station. The building later housed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights organization formed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Located in the original beauty shop operated by a licensee of entrepreneur Madame CJ Walker in the 1950s, this small museum preserves the history of Walker's business and her many accomplishments. The building also houses Atlanta's WERD Radio--the first Black-owned station in North America. On October 3rd, 1949, WERD was officially the first Black-owned radio station on the air (New York Daily, 1999). This first station was located at 54 Hilliard St NE, inside of the Prince Hall Masons Grand Lodge. This entry discusses both Madame CJ Walker and the history of WERD.
The Wheat Street Baptist Church is a historic church located in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta,Georgia. This historical location is adjacent to the Martin Luther King, Jr historical district. Established just a few years after the Civil war ended, it served as a spiritual, civil, and social beacon for the African American community. Under the leadership of Reverend William Holmes Borders the church became the largest and wealthiest African American church in the United States. Borders was a well known civil leader and was very passionate in reaching out to the oppressed. His influence changed segregation laws and provided economic growth and opportunity for the Black community.
Ebenezer Baptist Church, located in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Historic District, has been a community staple for more than one hundred years. Martin Luther King, Jr. became co-pastor of the church alongside his father in 1960. He remained in that position until his death in 1968. The National Park Service began restoring the building in 2001.
This historic home was constructed in 1895 and is located one block east of the Ebenezer Baptist Church where King's father served as pastor. Dr. King's grandparents bought the house for $3,500 in 1909 and Martin Luther King Jr. was born in the house in 1929. The King family moved in 1941. Shortly after that time, the house was converted into a two-family home. A visit to the home starts with the Visitor's Center at 449 Auburn Avenue, which was built in 1996. The Visitor's Center tour starts with the multimedia exhibit "Courage to Lead" which provides an overview of King's life and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Tour guides walk visitors to the home and provide unique stories about King's boyhood and later life.
The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change was established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King to be a living memorial and tribute to MLK Jr. The center is both a traditional museum and memorial as well as a center for social change in Atlanta. Approximately one million individuals pass through the King center annually.
Fire Station No. 6 was built in 1894 to serve the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. The building is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and is the oldest standing firehouse in Atlanta. As a young man, Martin Luther King, Jr. played basketball behind the firehouse. The station was the first to be integrated with White and Black firefighters working together in the 1960s. The building housed an active Atlanta Fire Department unit until 1991. The fire station now houses a museum on early firefighting history and desegregation of the firefighting forces in Atlanta. The building also includes a gift shop/ bookstore. The National Park Service opens the building when park volunteers are available.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour along Auburn Avenue includes several museums, historic churches and other buildings, monuments to local black leaders, and several national historical sites related to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
