Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Travel: Montgomery, Alabama

Contributed By:Junifer Hall

On the third Monday in January, the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Americans, and others around the globe will pause to remember the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the annual national holiday designated in his honor.

The City of Montgomery was the site of many events that helped to shape the modern Civil Rights Movement and is known as the place where Dr. King assumed his first ministerial pastorate. Alabama’s state capital, Montgomery, traces its history to the days before the American Civil War, where it served as a major producer of cotton based primarily on slave labor. Also, in the distant past, Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederate States of America under the leadership of its President Jefferson Davis. Today, this historical city is fully racially integrated and home to Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, numerous cultural attractions, and various agricultural based industries.

One of the most famous events of the modern Civil Rights Movement to occur in Montgomery was the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by a young and fiery Baptist preacher - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spiritual leader of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church now known as the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church. Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott from his office located in the church basement. It was here that Dr. King frequently met with Mrs. Rosa Parks, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Rev. E.D. Nixon, amongst others to plan strategy, which eventually led to the end of legal segregation on Montgomery’s Public Transit System, including public buses.

Visitors can daily tour the red brick two-story church and the Dexter Parsonage Museum located next door to the main sanctuary.

A short distance from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is the Alabama State Capitol Building. In March 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other protestors encountered racist mobs and law enforcement officials while trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in an attempt to leave Selma en route to Montgomery, an event called “Bloody Sunday.” Later, in what became known as the Selma to Montgomery March with the final destination being the State’s “Seat of Government” - Dr. King delivered his powerful and inspirational speech, “How Long? Not Long,” on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol.

Admission is free to this historic building, which can be toured Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. On Saturdays there are guided tours only beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m.

On the campus of Troy University, visitors can tour the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, a facility which provides detailed insight into the life and times of the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” Rosa L. Parks. The library is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. and closed on Saturdays. The Museum is open on Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., and closed on Sundays.

For the American Civil War “history buff,” Montgomery offers various points of interests, because this city had strong ties to the Confederacy. The orders to fire on Fort Sumter (South Carolina) were sent from this Southern city as well. The act of firing ammunition on the federally controlled garrison effectively began the “War Between the States”. In my opinion, the main Montgomery tourist attraction for the antebellum period is The First White House of the Confederacy occupied by President Davis and his wife from February 1861 until the end of May 1861, when the Confederate’s state capital moved to Richmond, Virginia.

The Italian style house is open to the public and can be toured Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission is free to the First White House of the Confederacy.

How To Get There
Montgomery is 11 hours and 14 minutes when driving by car from Gary. Interstate 65 traveling via Indianapolis, Louisville (Kentucky), Nashville (Tennessee), will take you directly into the Montgomery Metropolitan area.

On the other hand, United and American Airlines offer daily service to Montgomery from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Montgomery International Airport.

Where To Stay and Eat
The Doubletree Inn Hilton and Garden Inn are two favorite hotel spots for travelers to the City of Montgomery, due to their exceptional service and low costs, amongst other leading brands of hotels.

As is common with major Southern cities in America- the cuisine of fried chicken, pig feet, macaroni and cheese, fried green tomatoes, collard greens, okra, cornbread, peach cobbler, and other desserts are readily available in restaurants in Montgomery. In addition, traditional American food fare is a favorite of travelers as well, who frequent this region of the State of Alabama.

Story Posted:01/10/2017