Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church could become UNESCO World Heritage site

The historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue is one of 11 Civil Rights Movement sites that could potentially be added the UNESCO World Heritage List.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced in a press release that she has authorized the National Park Service to prepare a nomination for sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Virginia and Washington, DC to be added to the list.

The historic church building, known as the Heritage Sanctuary, was dedicated in 1922 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was co-pastor with his father. In 1999, a new 1,700-seat Ebenezer Church building called the Horizon Sanctuary was inaugurated across the street. Both are part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

The sites include:

1. Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church , Montgomery, Alabama
2. Bethel Baptist Church , Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument)
3. 16th Street Baptist Church , Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument)
4. Edmund Pettus Bridge , Selma, Alabama, (part of Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail)
5. Greyhound Bus Terminal , Anniston, Alabama (part of Freedom Riders National Monument)
6. Little Rock Central High School , Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site)
7. Ebenezer Baptist Church (Heritage Sanctuary) , Atlanta, Georgia (part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park)
8. Monroe Elementary School , Topeka, Kansas (part of Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park)
9. Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home , Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument)
10. Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum , Farmville, Virginia
11. Lincoln Memorial and Grounds , Washington, District of Columbia (part of National Mall and Memorial Park.

If designated, the sites would join other cultural and natural sites of universal importance, such as Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador on the World Heritage List.

In addition, Haaland has also authorized the National Park Service to prepare a possible nomination of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia.

There are currently 1,199 World Heritage Sites in 168 countries, including 25 in the United States . The National Park Service manages all or part of 19 of the 25 U.S. sites.

“The U.S. sites that mark the civil rights movement are integral in helping us tell a full and complete story of American history,” Haaland said in the release. “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. 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.”

The Department will collaborate with partners and consult with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage on the completed document before making a final decision on whether to submit the nomination for the Civil Rights Movement Sites to the World Heritage Committee.

If submitted, the final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the World Heritage Convention, and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

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