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Ebenezer Baptist Church: then and now

1979 vs 2007 · Atlanta, GA

Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2007Ebenezer Baptist Church, 1979
NowThen
Then, 1979The church interior in 1979, looking toward the pulpit and organ.Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey (U.S. government) · Public domain · Source · resized
Today, 2007The brick church with its Ebenezer sign on Auburn Avenue. Photo from 2007.Photo: Erin McDaniel (Erinmcd) · CC BY 3.0 · Source · resized

The story

Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded in 1886 by Pastor John A. Parker and eight people on Airline Street.

The church building was dedicated in 1922. Martin Luther King Jr. served as co-pastor with his father from 1960 until his assassination in 1968, and his funeral was held at Ebenezer on April 9, 1968.

The newer Horizon Sanctuary was inaugurated in 1999 with 1,700 seats, in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

Did you know? The church was founded with nine people.
Historians argue about this. Wikipedia does not give the national park's founding year or the old sanctuary's style, so check the park's own history before repeating them.

Fact or tall tale?

Sources

More: Look for historic photos at the Library of Congress

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Go there, answer the question that only someone standing at Ebenezer Baptist Church can answer, and add the stamp to your passport. Free, no sign-up.

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Next: Georgia State Capitol. Written from the cited sources, not yet walked on site unless noted.