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Atlanta Civil Rights Movement

For over thirty years, Atlanta was called 'the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement', where leaders took on systemic racism at several layers of civil society.

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The national historic landmark district in the historically African-American community was at the center of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta.

Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park

The National Historical Park is an immersive experience in Atlanta where guests can explore the life and work of Dr. King, from his birthplace through his legacy in Civil Rights.

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights

The 42,000 square foot center in downtown Atlanta was founded in 2007 and tells the story of global human rights causes, abuses, and movements

Centennial Olympic Park

Formed after the 1996 olympics in Atlanta, the park now serves as an extensive green space for the community and travelers.

Georgia State Capitol

Formerly the Atlanta City Council building, the capitol has served as the seat of state government for over a century and also houses a museum which displays the history of the state.

Founded in 1957 by Dr. KIng and others, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded to help centralize the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the country.

Related Tours

Private Civil Rights Tour of Atlanta

Walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther King through the heartlands of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta where racial integration and equality had a spiritual home and King first had “his dream”. On your private Civil Rights Tour of Atlanta, you will:

See Dr King’s birthplace in Auburn Avenue, just one of several different buildings that make up the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site.
Visit the site of King’s baptism and funeral - the Ebenezer Baptist Church - which has become the most meaningful symbol of civil rights in America.
Learn how Martin Luther King Jr. Day became an annual US federal holiday.
See the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Headquarters.
Discover the events that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Experience Prince Hall Grand Lodge, a hidden treasure of the Civil Rights Movement.
Hear how the struggle for equality continues to this day, and how Atlanta is grappling with necessary change.
Enjoy a snack and a drink at a place recommended by your guide.

Known as “The Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement,” Atlanta emerged as the epicentre for activism during 1940 to 1970 when it became the cultural catalyst for freedom without discrimination or repression. Black leaders called for voting rights, access to public facilities and institutions, and economic and educational opportunities for African Americans. The civil rights movement had a spiritual home in Atlanta, specifically in the Sweet Auburn district where the influence of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife on civil rights history can still be felt to this day. It is here that King first had “his dream” while honing a particularly powerful speech that would have a seismic impact on US race relations.

Segregation, inequality and discrimination once defined the city, a policy firmly established and backed by state law, just as elsewhere in the South. Atlanta had a more progressive attitude to racial integration to the rest of America’s South, even prior to the Civil Rights Movement. It had appointed several black officials, desegregated public transport (in 1959) and inching towards wider social and political change. By the early 1960s Sweet Auburn had become the hub for the activism that would go on to power the city’s remarkable civil rights journey.