The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, commonly known as The King Center, is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States.

History

The center was founded in 1968 by Coretta Scott King, who started the organization in the basement of the couple's home in the year following the 1968 assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. In 1981, the center's headquarters were moved into the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site facility on Auburn Avenue which includes King's birth home and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached from 1960 until his death. In 1977, a memorial tomb was dedicated, and the remains of Martin Luther King Jr. were moved from South View Cemetery to the plaza that is nestled between the center and the church. Martin Luther King Jr.'s gravesite and a reflecting pool are also located next to Freedom Hall. Mrs. King was interred with her husband on February 7, 2006. In 2012, King's youngest child, Bernice King, became the CEO.

Programs

The organization carries out initiatives on both the domestic and international level. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is dedicated to research, education and training in the principles, philosophy and methods of Kingian nonviolence.

Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize

The Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize is awarded by the King Center. A non-exhaustive list of recipients includes:

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

(1973);

Stanley Levison Stanley David Levison (May 2, 1912 – September 12, 1979) was an American businessman and lawyer who became a lifelong activist in progressive causes. He is best known as an advisor to and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr., for whom he help ...

and

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...

(1978);

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...

(1980); Martin Luther King Sr. and

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisi ...

(1983);

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...

(1987);

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

(1991); and, on April 4, 2018the 50th anniversary of King's assassination

Ben Ferencz Benjamin Berell Ferencz (born March 11, 1920) is an American lawyer. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the 12 Subsequent Nurembe ...

and Bryan Stevenson.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Center For Nonviolent Social Change Monuments and memorials in Georgia (U.S. state) Organizations based in Atlanta Nonviolence organizations based in the United States Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr. Non-profit organizations based in Georgia (U.S. state) Coretta Scott King Old Fourth Ward Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and Preservation District Civil rights movement museums 1968 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)