Inspiration and Heroism: Visit to the Martin Luther King National Historic Site

As we begin Black History month, I wanted to share a note about a recent trip.  I was able to take advantage of being in Atlanta on the long weekend of the Martin Luther King national holiday to pay a visit to the Martin Luther King National Historic Site.   As a very young child in the 1960s, I recall seeing a movie on Dr. King’s life in my Sunday school class and being impressed even then. 

Of all the heroes in my life, Martin Luther King is high on the list.  On every visit to Washington I climb the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to stand at the spot where Dr. King stood to give what is perhaps his most famous speech, and in recent years I have added a visit to the Martin Luther King memorial.  And each year on Martin Luther King day I take 16 minutes from my activities to listen to that speech, the brilliant “I have a dream” speech.  

So it was with great excitement that I arrived in the Sweet Auburn section of Atlanta where Dr. King was born, where he preached, and where the Martin Luther King National Historic Site is located.

When I walked into the National Park Service’s visitor center I was told a short film would be starting momentarily about the role of children in the civil rights movement.  The film showed children marching, occupying seats at lunch counters, and riding school buses to attend previously all-white schools.  These children, as young as six years old, were targets of harassment, beatings, high-pressure hoses, and worse. 

As a parent of three children, I was moved to tears, trying to imagine the level of frustration and desperation that would be necessary for me to let my young children be exposed to such hostility and danger.  I can’t even begin to describe the bravery that these children and their parents exhibited, the courage they displayed.  I now have a new benchmark for when I hear people talking about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

After the film, I walked through the exhibits of the visitor center, where I learned in greater detail about the life and accomplishments of my hero Martin Luther King, Jr.  I then left the visitor center, walking past the World Peace Rose Garden to the front of the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King and his father served together as pastors. 

Walking up Auburn Avenue, I came next to The King Center with its eternal flame and the tomb of Dr. and Mrs. King in the middle of a cascading reflecting pool.  In the King Center I viewed more exhibits about Dr. King and his wife, as well King’s hero and influence Mahatma Gandhi. 

Continuing along the street, I passed the restored Fire Station No. 6 – the first integrated fire station in Atlanta – and the modest bungalows and more ornate houses maintained by the Park Service to show how the neighborhood looked when Dr. King lived there.  My final stop was at Dr. King’s birth home where I thought as I walked up the steps that I was standing where he had stood, walking where he had walked.  It sent shivers up my spine 

While there were many, many people who contributed to the civil rights advances of the 1960s, and we know those advances while substantial were far from complete, Martin Luther King’s passion, vision, leadership, service and sacrifice was an enormous catalyst for change.  His devotion inspired me, and so many others, and helped make a real difference.  And he continues to inspire.

My visit to this landmark deepened my already-deep appreciation for this great man and what he stood for.  While it made my own efforts pale in comparison, it nonetheless reinforced my desire and commitment to looking beyond my own personal needs and making a difference in this world in ways large or small.   

Copyright 2014 by Ed Coburn