If there is one neighborhood where the Civil Rights movement is celebrated, it is in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District. This National Historic Landmark is one of the major tourist destinations in Georgia’s state capital.
It was the local civil rights activist John Wesley Dobbs who coined the name of the neighborhood. Dobbs was the grandfather of Atlanta's first African American mayor, Maynard Jackson, who is interred in the nearby Oakland Cemetery. Today, the Sweet Auburn Historic District encompasses the area between Courtland St. and the Downtown Connector of the I-75/85 highway.
The area became the commercial district of “Black Atlanta” during the strict segregation laws of the 1920s. The first African American-owned newspaper and office buildings were based here and the successful Atlanta Life Insurance Company was founded by a former slave. The beaux arts building faces Auburn Avenue, the street where Martin Luther King Jr. was born.
Visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park to see where the famous African American pastor was raised. His childhood home is now a museum and you can also visit the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached. Visit the tomb of the assassinated leader of the American Civil Rights Movement to pay your respects and stroll through the "I Have a Dream" International World Peace Rose Garden.
There is also a memorial tribute to the Indian lawyer Mahatma Gandhi and an International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
While the area had fallen into disrepair in the 1980s, recent renovations have resulted in an upgrade of this National Historic Landmark area. The nearby John Lewis Mural is an example of this. The huge painting honors the founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who helped lead the Freedom Rides in 1961. The APEX Museum, also in Auburn Avenue, has gripping exhibits that make for the unique “African American Panoramic Experience” its name promises.
Walking tour maps of the Sweet Auburn Historic District are available through the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and there also are group walking tours with knowledgeable local guides.
