ATLANTA — Both of Georgia’s U.S. Senators and three of its House of Representatives members introduced bills to declare the West Hunter Street Baptist Church a National Historic Site.
West Hunter Street Baptist Church was where Dr. Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. ministered at during the Civil Rights Era and beyond for nearly 30 years, beginning in 1961.
Abernathy was known as one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strongest allies as he and others fought for civil rights and equality in the 1960s.
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Sens. Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate, which passed a key committee hearing to move forward in Congress, according to their representatives. It now goes to a full Senate floor vote.
“Ralph David Abernathy Sr. was a great Georgian, a great American, and a titan of the civil rights movement,” Sen. Ossoff said. “This is why I am working to establish Atlanta’s West Hunter Street Baptist Church as a National Historic Site and preserve the legacies of Reverend Abernathy, his wife Juanita and the church.”
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In 2023, West Hunter Street Baptist Church received millions of dollars of federal funding for preservation efforts at the church.
The restoration of the church’s sanctuary was mostly complete last summer.
“The civil rights tradition in Atlanta traces its roots to the Black Church,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Few institutions mean more to that rich history than West Hunter Street Baptist Church, and the incomparable Reverend Ralph David Abernathy Sr. Reverend Abernathy inspired generations of Atlantans during some of the darkest moments in our country’s history and instilled in them the belief that they must never fail to fight for freedom.”
In the House, Reps. Nikema Williams, Hank Johnson and Austin Scott sponsored the companion bill. Williams secured the $4 million awarded in 2023.
The Senate version of the bill progressed out of committee just days before a centennial celebration for Abernathy at West Hunter Baptist Church.
The celebration was held on Sunday, with Abernathy’s children joining with the congregation to celebrate the civil rights legend.
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