Atlanta

Axios Atlanta

The first part of derailing the Buckhead cityhood push, Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters at his inaugural media roundtable on Tuesday, is to run the city well. 

The second: educate state lawmakers about how Buckhead cityhood could, among other things, ripple to their hometowns.

Why it matters: Dickens’ ability to follow through on any of his campaign promises and vision — housing affordability, public safety, transportation — depends partly on squelching the secessionist movement that would wallop City Hall’s budget.

Details: Dickens says he’s regularly checking in with state lawmakers and leaders including Gov. Brian Kemp. The two text about a range of issues, Dickens said, including public safety, and have held a breakfast meeting at the governor’s mansion.

His pitch includes Buckhead cityhood’s potential effect on Atlanta’s finances, other municipalities’ and the state’s bond ratings, and how lawmakers would like to see him try to help parts of their cities split off (none of the sponsors of the Gold Dome legislation represents Buckhead).

“You wouldn’t want this happening in your city, your neighborhood. This is a local control issue, and none of the people who are producing this bill are from Buckhead. They don’t live in the jurisdiction that they’re actually trying to change… How would you feel if I made a bill about that?”

Yes, but: Dickens says some lawmakers appear supportive, but later say they’re in limbo until the GOP caucus takes a stand. He plans to return to those one-on-one conversations in the coming weeks. 

Rapid fire: Other topics during Tuesday’s roundtable included: 

Housing: Dickens says he’s met with Atlanta Housing and Invest Atlanta leaders and to expect news soon about the long-simmering redevelopment of the shuttered Atlanta Civic Center in Old Fourth Ward and the 77-acre former Bowen Homes public housing site off Donald L. Hollowell Parkway.

He’s also talking with faith leaders interested in developing unused land, including parking lots that sit empty six days a week, for housing. 

Police: APD is on track to meet a goal to hire 250 new officers by the end of 2022, the mayor says, and he’s trying to reduce attrition by shoring up morale. 

He’s showing up to roll calls and asking officers what they need in terms of equipment, resources, and likely down the line, salaries. 

Homelessness: Dickens says he wants to help people get an ID to receive services, find a rapid COVID test to be allowed into a shelter and fix other hurdles that homeless people experience daily.

In the next few weeks, he says, his administration will announce the purchase of a property aimed at providing people transitional housing to get off the street.

What we're watching: The third part of fighting Buckhead, Dickens said Tuesday, is a strong opposition campaign. Expect more on that front.

Dickens says he'd also like some help coming up with an alternative name for "pothole posse." Infrastructure entourage, maybe?   

Dickens builds a bridge to block Buckhead cityhood

Dickens’ ability to follow through on any of his campaign promises and vision depends partly on squelching the secessionist movement that would wallop City Hall’s budget.

Mayor Andre Dickens, wearing a gray suit, sits in a white chair in front of blue backdrop that says "City of Atlanta"

The first part of derailing the <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Buckhead cityhood" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/10/07/buckhead-cityhood-debt-pension" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/10/07/buckhead-cityhood-debt-pension" target="_self">Buckhead cityhood</a> push, Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters at his inaugural media roundtable on Tuesday, is to <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="run the" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cbs46.com/news/city-transportation-workers-get-to-work-ahead-of-possible-winter-storm/article_36c2a292-755a-11ec-8000-3760c1e37c62.amp.html" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cbs46.com/news/city-transportation-workers-get-to-work-ahead-of-possible-winter-storm/article_36c2a292-755a-11ec-8000-3760c1e37c62.amp.html" target="_blank">run the</a> <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="city well" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/01/13/atlanta-buckhead-new-police-precinct" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/01/13/atlanta-buckhead-new-police-precinct" target="_self">city well</a>. <ul><li>The second: educate state lawmakers about how Buckhead cityhood could, among other things, <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="ripple" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/05/buckhead-atlanta-secession-buckxit-impact" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/05/buckhead-atlanta-secession-buckxit-impact" target="_self">ripple</a> to their hometowns.</li></ul>Why it matters: Dickens’ ability to follow through on any of his campaign promises and vision — housing affordability, public safety, transportation — depends partly on squelching the secessionist movement that would wallop City Hall’s budget.

News

Every year, officials at the Georgia Department of Revenue reject roughly 200 applications for vanity license plates for being obscene, defamatory or profane.

Why it matters: If you’re going to sit in hours of traffic every week, you might as well get a chuckle from the car braking in front of you. 

However, there are rules in a civilized society, folks.

The rules: The state prohibits obscene, defamatory or profane “prestige” plates and reserves the right to recall ones that slip past. 

Plates that are sexual in nature; disparage a religion or religious being; disparage an ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation; include a trademark or copyright; or reference criminal activity or drugs and alcohol likely won’t make the cut.

Also off limits are combinations that include “GBI, FBI, GSP, GOV, H8, HA8, HAT, HAYTR, AYTR, ANTI, ANTE, SUCK, SUK, BLOW, or 69.”

In 2013, an Atlanta man sued the state revenue commissioner for rejecting his requests to put “4GAYLIB” “GAYPWR” and “GAYGUY" on a license plate.

Details: Axios filed an Open Records Request for the past two years of rejected prestige plates. Here’s what you won't see on the road:

So much hatin’: Applications were rejected for clapping back at haters, including: YUH4TIN, DNTH8, YUHATN, YUH8TN, HIH8RZ, YRUH8N

Funny business: Names of corporations and brands were blocked, including SPRITE, two riffs on Armani, ADIDAS69, GEIC0, ATARI and MTNDEW. 

Entertaining: TUPAC5, ST4RWRS, CQB241 (the same license plate number as the killer car in Stephen King’s “Christine”),  B0NJ0VI, SKELETOR, 1BATMAN, KALEESI, and a Prince trifecta (DOVSCRY, BTIFUL1, PRPLRAN)

Pandemic plates: People tried — and failed — to snag tags with N0MASK, N0VACS, C0VID19, COVID, C0VID, 2C0VID, K0VID19, C0R0NAV, C0R0NA7

Sports: ATLBRVZ, BALBOA, EVANDER, FOREMAN (boxing-related plates that were all rejected on the same day), AUFC15, and variations on Kobe Bryant.

Creative AF: Among the proposed plates playing off “____ as f___,” some of the most memorable were VEGANAF, THICCAF, L0UDASF, S0LIDAF, BLACKAF, BR0KEAF, SICKAF

Red state: In addition to PRAGERU (the name of a conservative nonprofit), officials rejected TRMP1, TRMP3, TRUMP24 and TRMP2.

Grow up: 0FOXGVN, DIZNUTS, DZZNUTS, DISSNUTS, 1FUCKY00, IPLZHER, 69H0, T0PL3ZZ, SEKSY1, SPR3D3M, B3ND0VR

When in Rome: People tried to sneak IXII (9-11), and DCXCVI (696)  

Thomas’ thought bubble: My dad was a urologist and was able to score a license plate that read “C ME 2 P,” which to this day makes me giggle.

His two other proposed plates — which I can’t repeat here in this family-friendly newsletter — were rejected.

Also, let’s all have a round of applause for the Georgia Open Records Act.

Here are Georgia's most... interesting rejected vanity license plates

Georgia license plate with symbols implying a swear word.

Every year, officials at the Georgia Department of Revenue reject roughly 200 applications for vanity license plates for being obscene, defamatory or profane.Why it matters: If you’re going to sit in hours of traffic every week, you might as well get a chuckle from the car braking in front of you. <ul><li>However, there are rules in a civilized society, folks.</li></ul>The rules: The state <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="prohibits" data-vars-click-url="file:///Users/thomaswheatley/Downloads/MV_Prestige_Tag_Request_Form_MV9B_0.pdf" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="file:///Users/thomaswheatley/Downloads/MV_Prestige_Tag_Request_Form_MV9B_0.pdf" target="_blank">prohibits</a> obscene, defamatory or profane “prestige” plates and reserves the right to recall ones that slip past.

Jeffrey Parker, a longtime transit veteran who since 2018 has led MARTA during one of the most ambitious periods in the agency's history, died Friday evening. According to MARTA, the cause of death was suicide. He was 55.

"The entire metro Atlanta region owes him a debt of gratitude for his transformational efforts and we will not stop working to build on the foundation he created," MARTA Board Chair Rita Scott said in a statement.

"As we struggle to understand the complexity of this tragedy, we grieve with and for his wife Erin, his daughters and all of Jeff’s family and friends as well as his MARTA family," Scott said. "As we continue to grieve, we want you to know that suicide is preventable and help is available to you."

Background: Parker was named MARTA's CEO and general manager after a long career in the public and private sector, including 20 years with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and as the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. 

He was guiding the agency during the early years of the $2.7 billion MORE MARTA program, a redesign of its bus network, new bus rapid transit routes, and a planned overhaul of its Five Points station. 

Earlier this week, Parker hosted the annual State of MARTA event where he highlighted the transit agency's achievements during the challenging COVID pandemic and unveiled a new rail car design.  

What they're saying: Tributes to Parker and condolences for his family, friends and colleagues poured in from elected officials, civic leaders and transit advocates.

Mayor Andre Dickens, who worked closely with Parker as the Atlanta City Council's transportation committee's chair, said in a statement that "Jeff understood that MARTA is more than just a transportation system — it represents connectivity for residents and visitors of our great city and region."

The Atlanta City Council said Parker's "time at MARTA was marked with both a pragmatic and profound vision for our region’s future, and his intelligence, thoughtfulness and dedication will be sorely missed."

Doug Hooker, the executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, called Parker "an inspirational and driven leader who steered MARTA through one of the most challenging periods in the agency’s history. He championed a modernized, more equitable transit system that puts the customer first, a vision that will be lasting."

Governor Brian Kemp,  House Speaker David Ralston, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan and many others have also shared tributes. 

MARTA staff lowered the flags outside the agency's Lindbergh headquarters to half-mast.

If you or someone you know needs help, help is available. Call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Both are staffed around the clock.

MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker has died

Tributes to Parker and condolences for his family, friends and colleagues have poured in from elected officials, civic leaders and transit advocates.

The late MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker speaks into a microphone at an outdoor event

Jeffrey Parker, the CEO and general manager of MARTA, speaks at the West End station in December 2020. Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Jeffrey Parker, a longtime transit veteran who since 2018 has led MARTA during one of the most ambitious periods in the agency&#x27;s history, died Friday evening. According to MARTA, the cause of death was suicide. <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="He was 55" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/breaking-marta-ceo-jeff-parker-has-died/QCX3EFKDTFB4BFUV3D75IDYSC4/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/breaking-marta-ceo-jeff-parker-has-died/QCX3EFKDTFB4BFUV3D75IDYSC4/" target="_blank">He was 55</a>.<ul><li>&quot;The entire metro Atlanta region owes him a debt of gratitude for his transformational efforts and we will not stop working to build on the foundation he created,&quot; MARTA Board Chair Rita Scott said in a statement.</li></ul>&quot;As we struggle to understand the complexity of this tragedy, we grieve with and for his wife Erin, his daughters and all of Jeff’s family and friends as well as his MARTA family,&quot; Scott said. &quot;As we continue to grieve, we want you to know that suicide is preventable and help is available to you.&quot;Background: Parker was named MARTA&#x27;s CEO and general manager after a <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="long career" data-vars-click-url="https://www.itsmarta.com/jeffrey-a-parker.aspx" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.itsmarta.com/jeffrey-a-parker.aspx" target="_blank">long career</a> in the public and private sector, including 20 years with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and as the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. <ul><li>He was guiding the agency during the early years of the <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="$2.7 billion MORE MARTA program" data-vars-click-url="https://www.itsmarta.com/moremarta.aspx" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.itsmarta.com/moremarta.aspx" target="_blank">$2.7 billion MORE MARTA program</a>, a <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="redesign of its bus network" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/09/atlanta-marta-new-bus-routes" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/09/atlanta-marta-new-bus-routes" target="_self">redesign of its bus network</a>, <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="new bus rapid transit routes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/10/18/marta-bus-rapid-transit-line-atlanta" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/10/18/marta-bus-rapid-transit-line-atlanta" target="_self">new bus rapid transit routes</a>, and a <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="planned overhaul of its Five Points station" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/18/marta-atlanta-five-points-station-makeover" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2021/11/18/marta-atlanta-five-points-station-makeover" target="_self">planned overhaul of its Five Points station</a>. </li></ul>Earlier this week, Parker hosted the annual <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="State of MARTA" data-vars-click-url="https://itsmarta.com/stateofmarta.aspx" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://itsmarta.com/stateofmarta.aspx" target="_blank">State of MARTA</a> event where he highlighted the transit agency&#x27;s achievements during the challenging COVID pandemic and unveiled a <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="new rail car design" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/01/12/atlanta-marta-unveils-new-rail-cars" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/01/12/atlanta-marta-unveils-new-rail-cars" target="_self">new rail car design</a>. What they&#x27;re saying: Tributes to Parker and condolences for his family, friends and colleagues poured in from elected officials, civic leaders and transit advocates.<ul><li>Mayor Andre Dickens, who worked closely with Parker as the Atlanta City Council&#x27;s transportation committee&#x27;s chair, <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="said" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/andreforatlanta/status/1482370559182876673" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/andreforatlanta/status/1482370559182876673" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement that &quot;Jeff understood that MARTA is more than just a transportation system — it represents connectivity for residents and visitors of our great city and region.&quot;</li><li>The Atlanta City Council <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="said" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/atlcouncil/status/1482364289658900489" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/atlcouncil/status/1482364289658900489" target="_blank">said</a> Parker&#x27;s &quot;time at MARTA was marked with both a pragmatic and profound vision for our region’s future, and his intelligence, thoughtfulness and dedication will be sorely missed.&quot;</li><li>Doug Hooker, the executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="called" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/AtlantaRegional/status/1482381135762149381" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/AtlantaRegional/status/1482381135762149381" target="_blank">called</a> Parker &quot;an inspirational and driven leader who steered MARTA through one of the most challenging periods in the agency’s history. He championed a modernized, more equitable transit system that puts the customer first, a vision that will be lasting.&quot;</li></ul><a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Governor Brian Kemp" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/GovKemp/status/1482396254453784581" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/GovKemp/status/1482396254453784581" target="_blank">Governor Brian Kemp</a>, <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="House Speaker David Ralston," data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/SpeakerRalston/status/1482364673186013185" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerRalston/status/1482364673186013185" target="_blank">House Speaker David Ralston,</a> <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/GeoffDuncanGA/status/1482382296544075778" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/GeoffDuncanGA/status/1482382296544075778" target="_blank">Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan</a> and many others have also shared tributes. <ul><li>MARTA staff <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="lowered" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/marta_explorers/status/1482348521441406980?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/marta_explorers/status/1482348521441406980?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" target="_blank">lowered</a> the flags outside the agency&#x27;s Lindbergh headquarters to half-mast.</li></ul>If you or someone you know needs help, help is available. Call the <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Georgia Crisis and Access Line" data-vars-click-url="https://www.georgiacollaborative.com/providers/georgia-crisis-and-access-line-gcal/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.georgiacollaborative.com/providers/georgia-crisis-and-access-line-gcal/" target="_blank">Georgia Crisis and Access Line</a> at 1-800-715-4225 or the <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="National Suicide Prevention Lifeline" data-vars-click-url="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" target="_blank">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> at 1-800-273-8255. Both are staffed around the clock.

A new study of the effort that transformed East Lake from a pocket of poverty into a mixed-income success story says that the initiative improved home values, schools, and crime in the east Atlanta community. 

But what's less clear is whether original residents saw the benefits.

Why it matters: The decades-long revitalization initiative has become a national model often praised by community development researchers and equity advocates for reducing crime, improving educational outcomes and uplifting communities. 

The study raises an age-old question: When philanthropic leaders, government and neighborhood revitalization help change a place, who gets to experience the positive outcomes?

Details: Using a new model to analyze the initiative’s effects, Brett Theodos of the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank, says East Lake’s Black population decreased by 22 percent, slightly more than its white population increased, from the 1970s to recent years. 

“The share of residents holding bachelor’s degrees increased 21 percent, the share of households living below the federal poverty level decreased 18 percent, average annual incomes increased $36,000, and average home values increased $153,000,” Theodos writes. 

Catch up quick: In 1995, real-estate developer Tom Cousins created the East Lake Foundation and teamed up with community developers and nonprofits to break up concentrated poverty in the community. 

At the time, the crime rate at the 650-unit public housing complex called East Lake Meadows — nicknamed “Little Vietnam” by police and civic officials — was 18 times the national average.

Just under 15% of residents were employed, he writes. No new building permits were issued between 1980 and 1997 in the area.

The foundation has “directly invested or leveraged” $600 million since 1995 to replace East Lake Meadows with mixed-income housing, open Atlanta’s first charter school and attract a YMCA and Publix, the community’s first grocery store.

Residents were relocated during the new construction, and according to Theodos, 25% returned.

The takeaway: “The changes in racial composition and educational attainment suggest that much of the changes in income, home values and poverty rates are the result of changes of people, not changes for people,” Theodos writes. 

Big picture: Done well, place-based initiatives like East Lake aim to connect residents to jobs, improve schools, and foster a safe community — and keep legacy residents in place. 

If the efforts miss the mark, run out of resources or fail to gain traction, they can erode residents’ trust and fuel cynicism in government and nonprofits, Theodos writes. But they can also spur gentrification and displacement.

Groups like the East Lake Foundation are more likely to hit the bull’s eye with more resources, clearer long-term policies, shared goals with communities and local governments, and longer timelines, he says.  

What they’re saying: Carol Naughton, who led the East Lake Foundation from 2001 to 2008 and now serves as CEO of Purpose Built Communities, the nonprofit Tom Cousins created to help other cities try to copy East Lake’s model, tells Axios Atlanta Theodos' work adds to the difficult area of study. 

Naughton says that the study does not address “the full dimension of educational, social, and health outcomes for residents” — one of several areas which, Theodos says, deserves more study.

Atlanta's East Lake experiment: 25-plus years later

The decades-long revitalization initiative has become a national model often praised by community development researchers and equity advocates.

Illustration of an upward pointing arrow made from the top of a house

A <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="new study" data-vars-click-url="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/atlantas-east-lake-initiative" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/atlantas-east-lake-initiative" target="_blank">new study</a> of the effort that transformed East Lake from a pocket of poverty into a mixed-income success story says that the initiative improved home values, schools, and crime in the east Atlanta community. But what&#x27;s less clear is whether original residents saw the benefits.Why it matters: The decades-long revitalization initiative has become a national model often <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="praised" data-vars-click-url="https://saportareport.com/indianapolis-replicating-east-lake-model-with-help-from-warren-buffett-and-tom-cousins/sections/reports/maria_saporta/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://saportareport.com/indianapolis-replicating-east-lake-model-with-help-from-warren-buffett-and-tom-cousins/sections/reports/maria_saporta/" target="_blank">praised</a> by community development researchers and equity advocates for reducing crime, improving educational outcomes and uplifting communities.

Real Estate

Some of the important places in Martin Luther King Jr.'s life are closed due to Covid, but that doesn't mean you can't learn about the special places that played a role in the civil rights leader's life.  

We asked Tom Houck, King’s former driver who now leads Civil Rights Tours Atlanta, about some of the other important King-related spots in Atlanta.   

Auburn Avenue: Perhaps the single most important street in the story of King's life, Houck tells Axios. He grew up there, went to elementary school nearby at David T. Howard, preached at Ebenezer Baptist and planned marches at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquarters. 

Lesser-known spots, Houck says, include the long-gone restaurants Henry’s and BB Beamon's, where King would often eat, and the shuttered Butler Street YMCA, where he often took his children swimming. 

South-View Cemetery: Before being interred at the King Center, King was first buried at this historic cemetery in southeast Atlanta. It's the final resting place of his parents, John Lewis, Julian Bond, Hank Aaron, John Wesley Dobbs and many other notable figures.  

Vine City: Though his childhood home on Auburn Avenue is most famous, King and his wife, Coretta, raised their family in a modest house at 234 Sunset Ave. Purchased in 2019 by the National Park Foundation, the home is one of the most popular spots on Houck's civil rights tour.

Worthy of your time: The newly opened Rodney Cook Sr. Park aims to reduce flooding in the neighborhood and includes a monument to John Lewis.  

Atlanta University Center: Before becoming a Morehouse Man, King went to Washington High School down the street. He and other civil rights leaders  ate at Busy Bee Cafe,  Aleck's Barbecue Heaven, and the original Paschal’s location. The former remains a popular spot for soul food; Aleck's and the Paschal's location near the AUC closed long ago.

Houck’s tour company has canceled most January events because of the omicron variant but is currently accepting reservations for February trips.

Tour Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta

We asked Tom Houck, King’s former driver who now leads Civil Rights Tours Atlanta, for some of the other important King-related spots in Atlanta.

Martin Luther King Jr. adjusts his son's tie during a family portrait in their Atlanta home

Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, sit with three of their four children — Martin Luther King III, 5, Dexter Scott, 2, and Yolanda Denise, 7 — in their Atlanta home. Photo: AP

Some of <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="the" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/ebenezer_baptist_church.htm" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/ebenezer_baptist_church.htm" target="_blank">the</a> <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="important" data-vars-click-url="https://thekingcenter.org/visit/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://thekingcenter.org/visit/" target="_blank">important</a> <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="places" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/Birth-Home.htm" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/Birth-Home.htm" target="_blank">places</a> in Martin Luther King Jr.&#x27;s life are closed due to Covid, but that doesn&#x27;t mean you can&#x27;t learn about the special places that played a role in the civil rights leader&#x27;s life. We asked <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Tom Houck" data-vars-click-url="https://civilrightstour.com/meet-tom/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://civilrightstour.com/meet-tom/" target="_blank">Tom Houck</a>, King’s former driver who now leads <a class="gtm-content-click" data-vars-link-text="Civil Rights Tours Atlanta" data-vars-click-url="https://civilrightstour.com/" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://civilrightstour.com/" target="_blank">Civil Rights Tours Atlanta</a>, about some of the other important King-related spots in Atlanta.

Thomas Wheatley

Featured stories

Dickens builds a bridge to block Buckhead cityhood

Atlanta's East Lake experiment: 25-plus years later

MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker has died

Tour Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta

Here are Georgia's most... interesting rejected vanity license plates