PHOTOS: Atlanta Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Courtney Kueppers •
Marchers participate in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March in Atlanta.
Credit Virginie Kippelen / WABE
  • 1/13

    Marchers participate in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March in Atlanta.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 2/13

    It was a full house at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day service at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 3/13

    Dr. Ben Carson, U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, speaks at the Martin Luther King Jr. annual commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 4/13

    Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks at the Martin Luther King Jr. annual commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 5/13

    Recitation of Dr. King’s speech “I’ve been on the mountaintop” by a cast of performers during the 50th Martin Luther King Jr. annual commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 6/13

    People participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. annual commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 7/13

    Rev. Bernice A. King, Dr. King’s youngest daughter, spoke about showing one another kindness and love during the service.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 8/13

    Rep. John Lewis was among those who attended the annual service.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 9/13

    A woman looks on as marchers move through the streets in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March in Atlanta.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WAB
  • 10/13

    Marchers carried signs promoting message of love and equality and rebuking President Donald Trump.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 11/13

    A marcher carries an “I am a man” sign at the commemorative march. Signs with the same message were carried in the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 12/13

    Marchers gather outside the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
  • 13/13

    Onlookers observe as marchers move through the streets in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March in Atlanta.

    VIRGINIE KIPPELEN / WABE
Add to My List In My List

On what would have been his  89th birthday, people gathered across Martin Luther King Jr.’s hometown to remember and celebrate the civil rights icon.

At the annual service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was a co-pastor, speakers denounced President Donald Trump and called upon people to show each other acts of kindness.

“If we further polarize. If we further divide, I’m afraid it’s going to lead to our own destruction,” King’s daughter Rev. Bernice King said at the service.

After the service, people gathered for the annual march and rally downtown.

Hosted by the MLK March Committee, the annual event is meant to promote ideas of social justice, according to the event website.

Related Stories