Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church Memorializes MLK, Continues His Legacy

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By Kimberly Maryland

Known around the world as the church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. pastored, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is ingrained in American history. Now known as Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the house of worship has long been a main attraction for travelers from around the world when visiting Montgomery.

King became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1954, after relocating to Montgomery from Atlanta. Within a year, King and the church catapulted into the national spotlight at the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Because King was the first president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church became the meeting place where Black leaders gathered and held planning sessions during the boycott. Many of its members became strategists during the yearlong event.

During the boycott, King’s parsonage became a target of violence. On the evening of Jan. 30, 1956, a bomb was set off at the home while his wife, Coretta Scott King, and infant daughter, Yolanda, were inside. Although neither was hurt, the reality of what was occurring in Montgomery and inside the walls of Dexter Avenue thrust King into the world spotlight. The home was bombed several times later.

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