President Trump signed a bill which is upgrading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church and his burial site from a national historic site to a national historic park, NBC News reports.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park Act was sponsored and established by Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis. He’s elated to bring in Georgia’s first national park just in time for the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.
“I hope that this moment will serve as a reminder of the constant work to realize Dr. King’s dream of building the Beloved Community — a community at peace with itself and our neighbors,” Lewis said in a statement. “So proud that we were able to work in a bipartisan, bicameral manner.”
The new bill was signed into law by POTUS on Monday (Jan. 8) aboard Air Force One alongside King’s niece, Alveda King. “Through his life and work, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made America more just and free,” White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said, reports Blavity. “This important historical park tells his story, and this bill will help ensure that the park continues to tell Dr. King’s story for generations to come.”
It was my great honor to sign H.R. 267, the “Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act,” which redesignates the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the State of Georgia as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. https://t.co/Qe0b6HBFTY pic.twitter.com/QTgaqTawPT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018
Reportedly after signing the bill, Trump also signed two others regarding black history: the 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act and the African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017.
