Georgia’s Fierce Civil Rights Story Told Through 12 Historic Sites

Follow the Georgia Civil Rights Trail

In the heart of the American South, historic markers and sites across Georgia tell the raw, gripping story of the civil rights movement.

From the front porch where Martin Luther King Jr. took his first steps to the beaches where young protesters waded into segregated waters, here are 11 places where you can learn more about Georgia’s civil rights history.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park

Address: 450 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park covers 35 acres in Atlanta, Georgia and was established on October 10, 1980.

It includes the park encompasses several key locations significant to Dr. King’s life and work.

The King Center

Address: 449 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312, United States

Coretta Scott King started this living memorial in 1968.

It holds Dr. King’s tomb is surrounded by a reflection pool, an eternal flame, and keeps the biggest collection of Civil Rights Movement documents anywhere.

The King Center brings almost half a million people each year to Auburn Avenue.

Center for Civil and Human Rights

Address: 100 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313, United States

Right in downtown Atlanta, the Center for Civil and Human Rights opened its doors in 2014, filling its 42,000-square-foot building with stories of fighting for justice.

It features three core exhibits on civil rights history, Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers, and global human rights.

International Civil Rights Walk of Fame

Address: 450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312, United States

Moving through Atlanta’s Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, you’ll spot the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, which started in 2004.

On the walkway to the National Park Service’s Visitor Center, you’ll find 2’x 2′ granite squares set into the ground. These squares hold real footprints from people who fought for civil and human rights, including Rosa Parks, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Ambassador Andrew Young, US Congressman John Lewis, and others.

Inductions are held every two years since 2012. Civil rights activist Xernona Clayton created this tribute, which 800,000 people visit each year to walk where these leaders once stepped.

It also includes an interactive lunch counter sit-in experience that recreates how the protests went during that time.

Albany Movement Historical Marker

Address: 325 West Whitney Avenue, Albany GA

The Georgia Historical Society and partners placed this marker in 2014 to commemorate the Albany Movement.

The movement was launched at Shiloh Baptist Church in 1961, uniting Black community groups with SNCC and Albany State College students. Their goal was groundbreaking: desegregate everything in town, from bus stations to lunch counters.

Police jailed 1,500 protesters over two years, and Dr. King’s arrests drew national attention, while freedom songs kept spirits high. While King considered the Albany Movement a “failure,” after eight months, other activists felt otherwise. Their legal work and voter registration drives succeeded: schools integrated, public jobs opened up, and Black officials won elections.

The movement’s lessons also shaped the 1963 Birmingham protests.

Laurel Grove South Cemetery

Address: 2101 Kollock Street, Savannah, GA

This historic African American cemetery is the final resting place for many prominent civil rights leaders and activists. It occupies 90 acres of land that was once part of the Springfield Plantation.

The main entrance to the cemetery can be found at the west end of 37th Street.

Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building

Address: 56 Forsyth Street NW, Atlanta, GA

During the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement, this building housed the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges changed history with their civil rights rulings. The court ordered public schools, universities, and other facilities across the Deep South to end segregation.

In one major case, the judges struck down the segregation law that sparked the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott, the protest that helped make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a national leader.

The building’s key role in these civil rights victories led to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home

Address: 501 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA

The Queen Anne-style house where Martin Luther King Jr. was born remains one of Atlanta, Georgia’s most important civil rights sites. King’s grandfather, Rev. A.D. Williams, bought it in 1909.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born here on January 15, 1929, and the family continued to live in the house until 1941 and later used as a rental property.

Efforts to restore the house to its 1930s appearance began shortly after King’s assassination in 1968. Now, you can take 30-minute guided tours through the house, which looks just like it did in the 1930s.

Ebenezer Baptist Church

Address: 101 Jackson St NE, Atlanta, GA

Since 1886, Ebenezer Baptist Church has stood strong in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn area, pushing for civil rights and leading its community.

Martin Luther King Sr. became an assistant pastor in 1927, then senior pastor in 1931, and his funeral was held at the church on April 9, 1968.