Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta

              

            April 4, 2018 marked the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. The single shot did not erase the legacy of the dreamer or the end of the dream. Although he traveled worldwide Georgia was his home and Georgia has embraced him as its most honored native son. Visitors can trace his physical life from birth to burial, his philosophical and ideological stances through public speaking events and his evolving civil rights strategies through open and clandestine planning locations. Best of all, Georgia’s “Footsteps of MLK” tour includes sites where we catch glimpses of King the man, the husband and the father. #exploreGeorgia

Atlanta’s Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, established in 1980, is the natural starting point. The National Park Visitor Center (NPVC) presents a film, “The Last Days of Dr. King,” and has a small museum with a visual chronology, videos and a diorama of the Edmund Pettis Bridge march. Ebenezer Baptist Church, Heritage Sanctuary, was built 1914-22. In the 1960s King was co-pastor with his father, A.D. King. In 1974 his mother was killed by a gunman while she played the organ in the church. The church has been restored to its look during the 1960s. King’s robe, sash and other biographical items are on view at the King Center. Outside of the NPVC stands the “Behold” monument dedicated to MLK’s legacy. Entry to all sites is free. #footstepsofMLK

MLK was born on January 15, 1929, Michael King, in an 1895 Queen Anne home near the church and lived there until 1941. The home has been restored to the look of his childhood with assistance from family members. Thirty-minute guided tours are limited and guests must sign up in the visitor center. The area immediately around the home, declared a Preservation District in 1980, interprets young King’s neighborhood. www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/birth_home_tours.

King’s 1.5-mile neighborhood, Sweet Auburn dates from the late 1800s and is a National Historic District. It remains largely residential and wayside markers provide historic context. The 1894, Romanesque Revival, Historic Fire Station No. 6 was the city’s first integrated fire station and one of the first 8 original stations. The firemen gave Michael a hat and his first career choice was fireman.

The Georgia marble crypt of Dr. and Mrs. King, surrounded by a reflecting pool, is the heart of the King Center. King was moved there in 1970 and Mrs. King joined him in 2006. A park was constructed around the tomb in 1976. An Eternal Flame reflects the fact that MLK is a continuing symbol of the quest for universal civil rights and the ongoing dream. www.nps.gov/malu/index

                  Auburn Curb Market was built in the 19^th-century. It was located at the center of the city and was where farmers brought their goods to sell. In 1924 blacks were expelled from the market and forced to sell their goods on the curb outside. People began to buy curbside because the prices were cheaper and blacks returned in the 1940s. The 2012 renovated market is filled with eclectic vendors and restaurants. www.thecurbmarket.com

Civil Rights Tours Atlanta leaves from the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site and conducts you through the history of Atlanta and the Civil Rights Movement. The guide, Tom Houck, youngest member of the SCLC executive staff and driver and assistant to Dr. King, is extremely knowledgeable about the locations and events and shares his invaluable personal insights. Highlights of the tour include the Freedom Houses where SNCC workers took R&R, Wheat Street Baptist seen in Tyler Perry movies and Selma and the Peacock Club. Malcolm and Coretta had date nights at the Peacock Club which, because it is used in movies, looks the same on the exterior. King’s office was in the Prince Hall Masonic Building. It had no windows, numerous bookcases and a large picture of Gandhi. A bronze sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr. was dedicated in 2017 on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol. The statue stands 8-ft. on a 36-in. pedestal. www.civilrightstour.com

Dr. and Mrs. King lived in a house at 234 Sunset Street from 1963 until Coretta’s death in 2002. There were three undertakers living on the block and MLK referred to it jokingly as “death row.” This is the home where personal friends and families gathered to mourn in 1968 and where the King children grew up.

The 25-acre South-View Cemetery was established in 1886 by founders who had once all been enslaved. In 1968 King’s body was interred in South-View Cemetery in a family plot. Prior to being moved in 1970 his tomb was fired upon and a bullet hole can still be seen in the rear of the tomb. Many notable people are buried here and there is a 13-stop cellphone tour. www.southviewcemetery.com

               Brothers Robert and James Paschal established Paschal's in 1947 as a small restaurant specializing in Southern food. Initially there was no kitchen and food was cooked at Robert’s home and his wife brought it to the restaurant by cab. In 1960 they opened La Carousel Lounge where the biggest African American performers played. In 1968 they constructed a motor hotel with luxurious accommodations. Robert died in 1997 and James headed the company until his death in 2008. The restaurant was the unofficial headquarters of the movement, MLK held meetings on the premises and the leaders often stayed at the hotel. The restaurant is at a new location but it continues its tradition of excellent service, delicious Southern cuisine and star power. Chris Rock and Stevie Wonder have reserved tables. www.paschalsatlanta.com

Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights opened in 2014 with a focus on the state of and fight for civil and human rights in America and internationally. Exhibits on the first floor guide you through segregation and into the struggle to overturn it. The exhibits are interactive and engaging. King’s papers are rotated every 4 months in a special gallery. www.civilandhumanrights.org. #Livethelegacy

Devil on the Eastern Shore

                  John Legend’s 2016 television series Underground dealt with the harsh realities of slavery, the courage required to become a freedom seeker and those who operated the Underground Railroad (UGRR) at incredible risks to themselves and their families. The series revolves around the escape of the fictional Georgia Macon 7 but seeks to tell a larger story by injecting real life characters and incidents into the narrative. Over its two seasons many of the depicted occurrences actually took place along the Eastern Shore and sites are open to visitors and indicated with interpretive markers.

                  Harriet Tubman supplied a route for eight Bucktown-area slaves to follow north in March of 1857. They were to contact a free black man, Thomas Otwell, to lead them to their next stop. Instead Otwell guided them to the Dover jail for the $3,000 reward. Eventually they all escaped and the “Dover Eight” reached freedom.

Their route may have included the cabin of Tubman’s parents in Poplar Neck. The cabin is no longer standing but the similar James H. Webb log cabin is on view in Maryland. The one-room cabin was built in 1852 in Caroline County by a Webb, a free African American, on his 54-acres a few miles from the Tubmans. The fully-restored cabin has a brick food pit that may have been used to hide fugitives. As free people the Webbs would have been in constant danger.  www.harriettubmanbyway.org/webb-cabin

                  Upon reaching Philadelphia freedom seekers were often met by abolitionist William Still. Still’s father purchased his freedom and moved to New Jersey, followed by his wife Charity who escaped from Delmarva after her second attempt. Still was born free in NJ and moved to Philadelphia to work with the PA Anti-slavery Society. The William Still Interpretive Center features their relocated one-room cabin, furnished to replicate a slave cabin that the elder Still’s would have lived in. www.harriettubmanbyway.org/william-still-interpretive-center

                  Seaford’s 20-acre Governor Ross Plantation affords visitors an opportunity to take a guided tour of a restored 1850s mansion and Delaware’s sole authenticated slave cabin. Ross was governor from 1851-55. At the outbreak of the Civil War Lincoln sent troops to Delaware and Ross fled to England. He owned 1,398-acres of land and held the 2^nd highest number of enslaved in the region.  www.seafordhistoricalsociety.com

                  One of the most compelling characters in Underground is Patty Cannon, portrayed by Sadie Stratton. The real Patty has come to be known as America’s first serial killer, a slave stealer, a she-devil and in modern parlance, a psychopath. Visitors can follow her trail along the 40-mile Nanticoke Heritage Byway and 64-mile Nanticoke River. www.nanticokeheritagebyway.org 

                  Myths have shrouded the facts of her life but there are a few things we can prove. Martha "Patty" Hanly Cannon was born around 1760 and after her father was hanged for murder her mother ran a tavern. While working in the tavern she met and wed Jesse Cannon in 1790 and moved to the Delmarva peninsula.  Three years and two children later he died and Patty later confessed to poisoning him. Left to her own devices she formed a gang of robbers, thieves and murderers who kidnapped free and enslaved blacks and sold them.

When her daughter wed Joe Johnson he and Patty were headquartered out of Johnson’s tavern and a house nearby. The house was situated on the Delaware-Maryland State Line where three counties met allowing her to move between jurisdictions.

The Cannon-Johnson Gang robbed and murdered travelers but their interstate crimes involved stealing African Americans. The gang, including blacks, quickly learned that capturing freedmen was less dangerous than taking slaves because their owners would pursue them. Freedmen were on their own and the gang captured them from as far away as Baltimore, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Both male and female slaves were kidnapped and any babies or small children were killed.

In the early 1820s a gang member was captured and the handwriting was on the wall. Johnson fled and Patty retired. In 1829 bones were found by a tenant on Patty’s farm. Soon after, at Patty’s Johnson’s crossroads property, a man inquired about the state line. Patty walked him to it where she was arrested by a Delaware sheriff and taken to the Georgetown jail. Cyrus James, a black boy she had raised, was arrested and took them to where bodies were buried and told on the gang. Accounts given by victims were published in the abolitionist African Observer.

Patty confessed to personally murdering eleven people. On May 11, 1829 she died from a dose of arsenic and was buried in Sussex County jail yard. Later the body was relocated and her skull became separated. It is now in the Smithsonian.

The Patty Cannon House was torn down in 1948 but a marker indicates the area. There were 3 rooms over 3 and it is said that captives were chained in the house awaiting transport south.

Cannon House at Johnson’s Corners on Maryland 392 and Delaware 20 was once a tavern but it was extensively renovated in 1977. The 2-story tavern was their headquarters and the attic and basement were used to hold captives.

Cannon Ferry, now Woodland Ferry, began as an Indian crossing. The ferry started operation in the 1760s. It was used to transport captives across the Nanticoke. Several small islands are visible, most notably Tick and Pickle Pear Islands. They were used to hold captives who were chained to trees until Patty had enough people for a shipment.

Harriet Tubman was about 4-years old when Patty died, turning a page of African American history and opening up a new chapter.

If you do not feel confident in your ability to navigate the area there are two tour companies that offer outstanding tours that are informative, comprehensive and enjoyable. Call for availability, itineraries and pricing. Relaxing Tours, www.relaxingtours.net and Sun Otter Tours, www.SunOtter.com