Atlanta commemorating 50th anniversary of MLK's death

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commemorative events are happening across Georgia Wednesday and throughout his hometown of Atlanta. 

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize Award Ceremony took place at the King Center’s Freedom Hall. The Nonviolent Peace Prize is the King Center’s highest award and the event was moderated by King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice A. King.

At the ceremony, Bernice King remembered her father as "the apostle of nonviolence." She also recalled her father as a civil rights leader and great orator whose message of peaceful protest was still vital decades later.

"We decided to start this day remembering the apostle of nonviolence," she said during a ceremony to award the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize held at the King Center in Atlanta.

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The historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which is where King served as a co-pastor alongside his father and where his funeral was held in 1968, is hosting its Remembrance Day commemorative program at 5:15 p.m. The program ends at 6:01 p.m., the time King was assassinated in Memphis. It will end with the laying of a wreath on the outside of the church.

In Cobb County, the Atlanta Braves are honoring King’s legacy with several activities during their game against the Washington Nationals. That included a moment of silence followed by the Ebenezer Baptist Church choir singing the National Anthem ahead of the game. 

A “Let Freedom Ring” bell-ringing ceremony is taking place at Stone Mountain Park now until 2 p.m. It’s being held at Memorial Hall at the base of the mountain.

A number of political figures in Georgia have released statements on social media, including U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson.

"Fifty years ago today, the life of a great Georgian and historic civil rights leader was cut short far too soon. Thankfully, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., endures. On this anniversary and on every day, we remember the equality and justice that Dr. King fought for on behalf of all mankind."

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