PHOTOS: Take a Tour Through Civil Rights History In Atlanta

Courtney Kueppers •
Tom Houck was 19 years old when he became Martin Luther King Jr.'s driver. Here, he speaks in front of the King family home in Vine City during one of his civil rights tours of Atlanta.
Credit Alison Guillory / WABE
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    Tom Houck was 19 years old when he became Martin Luther King Jr.’s driver. Here, he speaks in front of the King family home in Vine City during one of his civil rights tours of Atlanta.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Among the first stops on the tour is Auburn Ave. Seen here is the Prince Hall Masonic Temple.

    WABE.ORG / PBA
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    Daryl Thomas (left) sings freedom songs during the tour and invites others to join. He says “We shall overcome” is a popular song on the tour.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Nasir Young (left) asks a question to Tom Houck during the tour.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Some of the sites on the tour have fallen into disrepair. Seen here is the Morris Brown College stadium. This stadium was built in 1996 when Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympic Games.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Julian Bond, who died in 2015, speaks about where he wanted to be buried as the tour bus enters the South-View cemetery. He was later cremated.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Ezekiel Teffer looks at the King family grave in South-View Cemetery.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    John Wesley Dobbs is among the prominent black leaders buried at the South-View cemetery.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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    Tourists take photos at the King Family’s Vine City home.

    ALISON GUILLORY / WABE
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Tom Houck was just 19 years old when he became Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal aide and driver. More than 50 years later, Houck is still driving to Atlanta’s historic civil rights sites, but now it’s primarily for tourists.

Today, Houck’s civil rights tours of Atlanta are a popular draw for students and people who want to learn more about the city’s rich past. A period in time that Houck experienced first hand.

“I would take my friends around and everybody was saying ‘Tom, you should be doing a tour.’ So I looked into it and there weren’t really any good ones out there. So I decided I would put together a tour,” Houck told WABE in 2016.

According to the tour’s website, stops include:

  • King’s last house
  • Magnolia Ballroom
  • Morehouse College
  • Rush Memorial Church
  • South View Cemetery
  • SCLC & SNCC Freedom house and King’s old house
  • Auburn Avenue
  • King Center & King Crypt
  • King Memorial
  • Ebenezer Baptist Church
  • King Birthplace
  • Edgewood Avenue – Sweet Auburn Market
  • State Capitol & City Hall

Note: Photos attached to this story were taken in 2016.

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