*On this date in 1981, we affirm the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the organization undertakes initiatives on both domestic and international levels. This is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded by Coretta Scott King.
She started the organization in the basement of the couple's home in the year following her husband's 1968 assassination. After many years of fundraising, the center's headquarters were relocated to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, a multimillion-dollar facility on Auburn Avenue that includes King's birth home and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached from 1960 until his death.
In 1977, a memorial tomb was dedicated, and the remains of Martin Luther King Jr. were relocated from South View Cemetery to the plaza situated between the center and the church. Martin Luther King Jr.'s gravesite and a reflecting pool are next to Freedom Hall. Mrs. King was interred with her husband on February 7, 2006. As of 2012, The King Center's current President and CEO is Bernice King, the youngest child of King. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is dedicated to research, education, and training in the principles, philosophy, and methods of nonviolence.
