ATLANTA — The Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once graced with his prominent legacy, could be included on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage List.
On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of Interior with the Department of the Interior announced that the Georgia site had been prepared as a proposed nomination for the list. According to a news release, it joins 10 other sites related to the Civil Rights Movement.
Outside of the Civil Rights Movement sites, the Department of the Interior added that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Folkston, Georgia, is near the Florida-Georgia borderline, closer to Jacksonville, Florida.
What does this mean?
According to a news release, if designated, the historic church, part of the MLK Jr. National Historic Park, will join other cultural and natural sites with "universal importance." This includes the Taj Mahal, the Galápagos Islands, the Grand Canyon and more.
Its website states that places on the World Heritage list are of "outstanding universal value to humanity." The list also aims to protect the sites for future generations.
Some of the Seven Wonders of the World are also on the list.
The list has over 1,000 natural and cultural places inscribed on the list.
Other sites with proposed nominations
- Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
- Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site)
- 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site)
- Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, (part of Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail)
- Greyhound Bus Terminal in Anniston, Alabama (part of Freedom Riders National Monument)
- Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site)
- Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas (part of Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park)
- Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument)
- Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum, Farmville, Virginia
- Lincoln Memorial and Grounds in Washington, D.C. (part of National Mall and Memorial Parks)
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said that these sites are "integral in helping us tell a full and complete story of American history."
"We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving these stories as part of our enduring effort to pursue a more perfect union," Haaland said. "A nomination of these sites to the World Heritage List would further recognize the pain, redemption and healing associated with these historical sites and honor the civil rights heroes who bravely sat, marched and fought to secure equality for all Americans."
What are the next steps?
The department must consult with other federal agencies before submitting a final nomination list.
If the sites are submitted, the World Heritage Committee, which has representatives from 21 nations, will make the final decision on adding them to the official list.
