Having lived in Atlanta for a while now and especially during these turbulent times, I've been meaning to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park near downtown, but until today, just hadn't gotten around to it. Dr. King is a personal hero of mine as the park contains both the house he was born in and his final resting place, I feel an obligation to pay my respects.
There is ample parking on this rainy summer day, but even so, I encounter a lot of people, especially families, visiting the site. From the parking lot, I stroll down a promenade with plates naming individuals crucial to the civil rights movement embedded in the walkway. Many of the names are familiar to me. At the end of the walkway, a statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who was a great inspiration to Dr. King, stands welcoming visitors. The Mahatma is also a great hero of mine and seeing his image here is quite an honor, though not exactly a surprise. I'm very aware that much of Dr. King's strategy for gaining equal rights for African-Americans was built upon Gandhi's non-violent struggle to free India from British rule.
From here, I turn down Auburn avenue and walk a short distance to visit the home in which Dr. King was born. It's a large two-story house, but packed into a small urban neighborhood. Other visitors stand in line to have their photo taken on the steps of the home, which is normally open to tours lead by park rangers, but during the pandemic, many of the park's programs are on hiatus.
My final stop sees me strolling down the reflection pool of the King Center and to Dr. and Mrs. Kings final resting place. Their tombs rest on a pedestal at the end of the reflection pool overlooking the "eternal flame" of hope. I remove my hat and think about the great man, his affect my own life, and his impact on correcting a terrible mistake in our society. I can only hope to do a fraction of the good that Dr. King accomplished during his time. Rest with the angels, dear soul. You have earned it.
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