Alabama: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights

Capital: Montgomery

Largest City: Huntsville

Population: 5 million

Admitted: 1819

Alabama is a southern state on the Gulf of Mexico. In August of 2016, I went to Alabama on a driving trip through several southern states. My goal on this trip was to do one thing in each city. During this trip, the goal of seeing all fifty states began to formulate in my mind.

For Alabama, I chose the house that Martin Luther King Jr. lived in Montgomery. Visiting the house, I felt his presence very close to my own, especially when one of the older women who lived down the block knew Dr. King very well.

Dr. King lived in the house from 1954-1960. In 1956, the porch was bombed. The porch still has visible damage from the bombing. The tour of the house had a few people with a guide. It was an interesting tour. The guide said we would be allowed to take photos, but she caught, one of the tourists voice-recording her as she spoke about the house. He apologized, but it did create an awkward tension in the room. We were not allowed to photograph the inside because of him.

Exploring the past at Martin Luther King Jr.'s former home in Montgomery

Although my first visit to Alabama was brief, I returned while driving through the South again with my husband in November of 2019. I would like to return to Alabama to dive further into the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama's history, especially since it's where the Montgomery Bus Boycott started and Rose Parks was arrested.