News Release
Photo Credit: Tami Heilemann, Department of the Interior photographer
News Release Date: September 24, 2020
Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov
(Press release originally distributed by the Department of the Interior Press Office)
ENSLEY, Ala. – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt was joined by Naomi Ruth Barber King, who is the wife of Alfred Daniel (A.D.) King, Dr. Alveda King, who is the daughter of A.D. King, Omie Crockett, who is the owner of A.D. King home, Jacqueline Washington Crockett, who is the daughter of Omie Crockett, and other distinguished guests at the Reverend A.D. King, Sr. house as he signed a proclamation designating the home to be included in the African American Civil Rights Network (AACRN). This designation further recognizes A.D. King’s numerous contributions to advance civil rights as the leader of the Birmingham Campaign.
“President Trump worked with Congress to establish the American Civil Rights Network to remember and tell the complete story of the struggle for civil rights to foster healing, tolerance and understanding among all Americans,” said Secretary Bernhardt. “The King family endured incredible hardships in the fight for equality. This home is an important chapter in the story that has shaped American history. It is a chapter that will forever be told. The legacies of the King and Crockett families are powerful reminders of our continued efforts to create a more perfect union. It is my honor to add the A.D. King house to the African American Civil Rights Network.”
“It is an honor to have the legacy of my father, Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King included as part of America’s African American Civil Rights Network,” said Dr. Alveda King. “Even the bombing of our home in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 could not deter the faith, hope and love and courage ‘Daddy’ exemplified throughout his lifetime. My family, the A.D. King Foundation, and all who knew and loved “Daddy” are very grateful. God bless America, and the entire one blood human race.”
“As a leader of the Birmingham Campaign, A.D. King was a key figure in the African American Civil Rights Movement. The African American Civil Rights Network is intended to recognize the importance of this movement in our nation’s history,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary, exercising the delegable authority of the NPS Director. “It is so fitting that this site take its rightful place in this network of places that commemorate, honor and interpret this important history and our continuing quest to insure equal opportunities for all Americans.”
“The designation of A.D. King’s home into the Network continues to illustrate President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt’s commitment to educate people of our American history,” said Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aurelia Skipwith. “We must honor and never forget the courageous people who gave their lives for the words of the Constitution to ring free.”
A.D. King was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement, and the youngest brother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From 1961 to 1965, he and his family resided at the home in Ensley, Alabama, while he led the congregation of First Baptist Church of Ensley through the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, known as the Birmingham Campaign. He also served as a leader for the Southern Christian Leadership.
On May 11, 1963, an assassination attempt was made on the life of A.D. King, his wife Naomi King, and their five children. Two bombs were detonated while the family was in the home. This attempt followed the recent agreement reached to desegregate downtown Birmingham businesses. The family managed to escape alive through a back door of the house.
Omie Crockett, who is a 98 year old decorated military veteran and former deacon at the First Baptist Church of Ensley, has long been an advisor and friend of the King family. He purchased the A.D. King house in 2005, which has great sentimental value to him.
“My father purchased the home in 2005 to preserve the legacy of the King family and the events that took place. My father and our family are honored to be a part of this historical event,” said Jacqueline Washington Crockett, who is the daughter to Omie Crockett and the benefactor of the A.D. King home.
The home was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. A.D. King is further memorialized by the creation of the A.D. King Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, by his widow Naomi King to educate the public about the history of the Civil Rights Movement.
The African American Civil Rights Network Act, signed into law by President Trump in January 2018, authorizes the National Park Service to coordinate and facilitate federal and non-federal activities to commemorate, honor and interpret the history of the African American Civil Rights Movement; the significance of the Civil Rights Movement as a crucial element in the evolution of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the relevance of the African American Civil Rights Movement in fostering the spirit of social justice and national reconciliation.
The A.D. King home is among the 32 sites designated under the African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017. Other sites and programs designated by the Secretary of the Interior include: the mural of Marian Anderson’s 1939 performance at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C; the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee; the Landmark for Peace Memorial in Indianapolis, Indiana; Medgar and Myrlie Evers’ home in Jackson, Mississippi; Alexander Pierre Tureaud Jr.’s home in New Orleans, Louisiana; Shelley house in St. Louis, Missouri; and the John Hope Reconciliation Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Additional information about the African American Civil Rights Network is online at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/civilrights/african-american-civil-rights-network.htm.
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Last updated: September 24, 2020