The old West Hunter Street Baptist Church, for 15 years the spiritual home of the late Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, stands vacant on a corner in Atlanta's West End, next to a Chinese restaurant called Egg Roll Corner.

Last year, the legendary civil rights leader's son, Ralph David Abernathy III, had an idea — to turn the old church into a museum honoring his father.

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Rev. Ralph David Abernathy and his wife Juanita with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in a family photo from 1965.

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The vision took a major step forward earlier this month when organizers obtained a $500,000 loan from Wachovia Bank to buy the building.

Now, they must raise about $5 million to turn the old church into the Ralph David Abernathy Center for Civil Rights History and Wax Museum.

Abernathy's family and other civil rights leaders, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), are to discuss the plans at a news conference today at Atlanta City Hall.

"I think my husband's legacy and what we've done is important," said Juanita Abernathy. "It's necessary for young people coming along to know from whence they came. If we don't remember the past, we're doomed to repeat the same things."

Organizers say the building will contain family photos, papers, recorded speeches, some of Abernathy's clothes and keys he collected from hotel rooms he slept in during his travels.

The plans also include a bookstore and life-size wax figures of Abernathy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders in the movement. A foundation in the younger Abernathy's name is leading the fund-raising effort.

Supporters say the center's mission and materials will differ from those of a proposed, $125 million, civil and human rights center that has yet to find a site. The Abernathy project, organizers say, will focus on the man's life and how others, particularly faith-based leaders, can apply his methods to lead community-based efforts.

"We want to tell the story of the civil rights movement," Abernathy III said.

He and others said the story of Ralph David Abernathy has been inaccurately told over the years. Abernathy is largely known as King's second-in-command, his top lieutenant.

"He was more than a lieutenant," Abernathy's son said. "He was a partner. He partnered with [King] from the beginning. That's why I feel a responsibility to declare his legacy."

King talked the elder Abernathy into becoming pastor of the church on West Hunter Street, now the 700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive N.W., in 1961.

Abernathy remained senior pastor until his death from a heart attack in 1990. The congregation currently worships in a church on the street that bears his name — Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.

The old church, a two-story granite building, needs work. Some of the stained-glass windows have holes. Other windows near the rear of the church are covered by wood planks.

Ralph David Abernathy III needed community support and money for the project. He went to Atlanta Councilman Ivory Lee Young, whose district includes the church.

Young, an Alabama native like the elder Abernathy, considers the civil rights leader a hero and had also thought about finding a place to honor him. The councilman pushed legislation to give the foundation a $200,000 city grant to buy the old church.

Some questioned the idea, aware of the younger Abernathy's past.

Abernathy III, a former state senator, was convicted in 2000 for fraud-related charges, sentenced to four years in state prison and paroled in 2001.

He later was sent back to prison for violating conditions of his parole. The state parole board found Abernathy guilty of five charges, including that he violated a state law that allows only lawyers to receive fees to speak on behalf of inmates before the parole board. He was released on parole in October 2003.

"I have gone through my valleys and gone through the other end. I didn't stay in the valley," said Abernathy III, 48. "I embrace my experiences and all the challenges. I'm not bitter. I'm better."

Cary Duncan, an Atlanta resident who frequently speaks at City Council meetings, raised his concerns about Abernathy III at a meeting in November. The council approved the grant that day.

"I hope it works," Duncan said, "but I still have grave concerns."

Young does not. The councilman said he believes in the younger Abernathy's work and in the project.

"These civil rights families require our protection," said Young, 45, who is African American. "This is not charity. This is payment for services rendered to open doors to places [African Americans] weren't allowed."