Tuesday will mark 49 years to the day that a bullet ended the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
To mark the occasion, Atlanta’s King National Historic Site will host the annual “King Remembrance Day,” honoring his life and legacy.
The day will also mark a temporary reopening of King's Birth Home.
Beginning on April 4 and running through April 7, the National Park Service will offer silent open house from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“We encourage visitors to walk through the Birth Home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and explore the community and family life that guided and nurtured this future civil rights leader,” said the Judy Forte, the national historic site’s superintendent.
The 122-year-old house has been closed on and off since August for repairs. Forte said the home was initially closed for safety reasons after structural damage was found in the floors.
King was born in the house on Jan. 15, 1929. When he died in Memphis on April 4, 1968, his family, which included his wife, Coretta, and his four children, lived in Vine City.
One of those children, his youngest daughter, Bernice A. King – the CEO of the King Center – will make remarks at a wreath-laying ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.
King’s father was pastor at Ebenezer for decades, and Martin Jr. joined him as co-pastor there in 1960. Martin Jr.’s funeral was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1968, and “Daddy” King’s funeral was there as well, in 1984.
To mark King’s assassination, the National Park Service and members of the church will place a replica of the 1968 wreath on the historic location of Ebenezer Baptist Church, as it appeared on April 9, 1968 – the date of his funeral.
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