
During the time Houck worked for SCLC he was a personal assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King and the King family. He served for almost a year as the King's family driver. Houck was also a field organizer (foot soldier) in breaking down the barriers of segregation and Jim Crow laws. He was with the SCLC as a coordinator of the Poor People's Campaign at the time of King's assassination in 1968.
Now, Houck wants to share his experiences and the history of the Civil Rights Movement with a whole new generation of Americans.
Civil Rights Tours Atlanta Trailer
Sites visited on the 3-hour tour include:
- The last residence of MLK, where the King children were raised and where Mrs. King greeted world dignitaries after the assassination.
- South-View Cemetery, final resting place of a who's who of Atlanta's African-American community. Including John Wesley Dobbs, Daddy & Mrs. Alberta King, Horace Mann Bond and more recently Atlanta business giants Jesse Hill & Herman Russell.
- Morehouse College, whose famous alumni include Dr. King, Maynard Jackson, Julian Bond, W.E.B. Du Bois, Samuel Jackson and Spike Lee. Morehouse was lead by Dr. Benjamin Mays for nearly a half a century.
- Auburn Avenue & Hunter Street. Once the wealthiest black streets in America, where major decisions on the Civil Rights movement were made.
"Tom has been a witness and participant in the civil rights movement from a very young age. His story and his long association with the King family will provide new insights for tourists and locals alike - lending a fresh perspective on race in America," Congressman John Lewis said.
Tours will be available to the public starting Friday, 27 March 2015. Tickets will be $65, which includes a voucher to visit the Center for Civil & Human Rights in downtown Atlanta. Book by visiting CivilRightsTour.com.