West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta

Civil rights leader Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. preached the last sermon at West Hunter Street Baptist Church before his congregation moved to new facilities in 1973.

Georgia性视界传媒檚 two U.S. senators have reintroduced legislation to declare Atlanta性视界传媒檚 West Hunter Street Baptist Church a National Historic Site in honor of the late civil rights leader Ralph David Abernathy Sr.

Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, got the bill through a Senate committee two years ago with bipartisan support, but it didn性视界传媒檛 reach the full Senate for a vote.

Abernathy, a Baptist minister, began his pastoral service at West Hunter Street Baptist in 1961 and served there for nearly three decades until his death in 1990. He was a close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Abernathy co-founded the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference and assumed its leadership after King as assassinated in 1968.

性视界传媒淩alph David Abernathy Sr. was a great Georgian, a great American, and a titan of the civil rights movement,性视界传媒 Ossoff said.

性视界传媒淎s a pastor of Dr. King性视界传媒檚 spiritual home, I remain committed to preserving Georgia性视界传媒檚 history and uplifting the power of faith in action,性视界传媒 Warnock added.

The bill received bipartisan backing in 2023, with members of both parties from Georgia性视界传媒檚 congressional delegation signing on as cosponsors. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, introduced the 2023 legislation on the House side and is doing so again this year.

Originally published on , part of the .