*On this date in 1981, we affirm the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the organization carries out initiatives on both the 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 the 1968 assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. After many years of fundraising, the center's headquarters were moved into the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, a multimillion-dollar facility on Auburn Avenue which 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 moved from South View Cemetery to the plaza that is nestled 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 King's youngest child, Bernice King. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is dedicated to research, education, and training in nonviolence principles, philosophy, and methods.
