ATLANTA — The King Center has announced its plans to celebrate the 100th birthdays of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
Although their centennial birthdays are not for another three to five years, the King Center is celebrating their milestone birthday from 2025 until 2029.
Dr. King's centennial birthday will be on Jan. 15, 2029, and Coretta Scott King's will be on April 27, 2027.
According to center officials, the plan includes a new state-of-the-art facility within the national historic park in Downtown Atlanta.
“As we approach the centennial birthdays of my parents, we honor their enduring legacies by recommitting ourselves to their vision of a Beloved Community. Our five-year plan isn't just about celebrations—it's a call to action,” explained Dr. Bernice King, the Kings' daughter.
It will also include global activations that embrace Dr. King's vision of a "Beloved Community" with events inspired by his teachings and both of their legacies.
The King Center will also be expanded to "bring pivotal moments of the Modern Civil Rights Movement to life through Dr. and Mrs. King’s words and images."
A news release from the center added that the center will have more technology to immerse visitors, including augmented and mixed reality, holograms and more interaction.
Officials added that it will not get rid of key features of the center, including the couple's crypt, their administrative offices, theatre and more, adding that it will work them into the new model.
The King Center stated that a music series and concert will also be held in April 2027 and January 2029 to help celebrate the centennial birthdays.
Officials also plan to create programs and initiatives emphasizing housing, liveable wages and other important issues.
“Through initiatives like the King Dream Center, social and economic impact programs, and cultural integrations, we're not only commemorating the past but actively shaping a future where equality, justice, and love prevail. Together, we can transform my father's dream and my mother's vision into tangible realities for generations to come," Dr. Bernice King added.
