Ebenezer Baptist: the organ
A gunman came to this church for the preacher. What the preacher did next took twenty-one years to play out.
Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.
How the story begins
“Why did you shoot my wife?” Martin Luther King Senior asked the question at Grady Hospital in Atlanta on 30 June 1974. He had been allowed to walk right up to the young man. “I came to shoot you, but I didn't see you,” Marcus Chenault said. “So, I shot your wife.” King Senior's reply was: “Son, I will pray for you.” Alberta King was 69. She was the organist in this church, whose sanctuary and pipe organ the Park Service has since restored.
The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.
Visiting
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Auburn Avenue NE, part of Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The park is open daily, 9 am to 5 pm, except Thanksgiving, 25 December and 1 January. Rangers give church talks daily: see the park calendar for times. The temporary visitor center is at Fire Station No. 6, 39 Boulevard NE.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The death of Alberta Williams King, Ernie Suggs, 2024
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: When Atlanta was US murder capital
- Atlanta News First: 50th anniversary of the Ebenezer shooting, 2024
- National Park Service: Ebenezer Baptist Church
- National Park Service: Plan Your Visit, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
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