FSU historian helps restore, reinterpret Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home

Nestled in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood just east of downtown Atlanta, a two-story home built in 1895 preserves the childhood story of one of the world’s most renowned civil rights leaders, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This historic home, managed by the National Park Service, reopened to the public this year with contributions from a Florida State University historian.

Assistant Professor of History Kathleen Powers Conti began working in 2019 to help restore and reinterpret King’s childhood home, working with NPS staff to identify needed repairs, update accessibility features and recommend ways to create a more historically accurate and meaningful experience for visitors.

“This home is a pilgrimage site for thousands of people, including global dignitaries, presidents and everyday citizens,” said Conti, who has worked on more than 100 public history and historic preservation projects in 45 states. “It was a phenomenal project, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to ensure these sites fully honor Dr. King’s legacy and his historical importance.”

An estimated 700,000 to 1 million people from around the world visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park annually. The park includes King Jr.’s birth home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Fire Station No. 6 and 34 other historic structures in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District. King’s birth home closed in 2023 for restoration and reinterpretation and reopened to visitors in July as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“FSU’s Department of History makes research accessible for many audiences,” said history chair Jennifer Koslow. “Conti’s participation in this project enhances her ability to teach our students how to collect, preserve and interpret history with and for the public. When audiences visit a historic site and read an informative label, they’re often unaware of the depth of research it takes to produce a 50-word explanation. Conti’s work offers students a model for learning best practices in museum studies and recording public history.”

Conti collaborated with Tara Dudley, an architectural historian and assistant professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, on extensive site visits and analyses. They observed how visitors interacted with the space and developed a detailed historic inventory, taking hundreds of photos of the home and the items within it. They combined that work with archival research and recorded interviews with members of King’s family to recommend how the entire house could be displayed more accurately.

“It’s a home that focuses on his childhood, but also the man he would become,” Conti said. “We worked with members of the King family, the NPS, community members who lived in the neighborhood alongside King and The King Center — a nonprofit community institution established by Coretta Scott King — to illuminate the legacy of this amazing American, who he was as a child, and what influenced him to become a civil rights leader.”

King was born in the home in 1929 and lived there for the first 12 years of his life. Using archival research and physical evidence from the house, Conti and Dudley developed recommendations for recreating its appearance during King’s childhood, from furniture placement to period-accurate dishes, tiles, shelving and toys.

“We wanted to make the space an immersive experience,” Conti said. “We considered what the home would smell like if the family was cooking Sunday dinner or what music they would’ve listened to. We also recommended how to source specific types of period-accurate materials like flooring, fabrics for tablecloths, curtains, bedding and items like board games and books to ensure visitors have a sense of place and identity.”

While working on King’s childhood home, the team also developed recommendations for nearby Fire Station No. 6 and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King served alongside his father, Martin Luther King Sr., until his assassination in 1968.

“Dr. King is not a one-dimensional activist,” Conti said. “He’s a human who had a childhood, and places like the fire station and church helped shape him, from playing at the station with his friends to growing up in the church. This work can change how people understand and experience American history, and we’re not just preserving these sites so future generations can experience and understand their important legacies.”

To learn more about Conti’s work and historic preservation research conducted in FSU’s Department of History, visit history.fsu.edu.