SCLC Vet Tom Houck to Lead Three-Hour Civil Rights Tours Through Atlanta

Tom Houck is a noted veteran of both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Civil Rights Movement.

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

Tom Houck announced a new Civil Rights Tour of Atlanta, Wednesday, saying, "This is the first time Atlanta's significant civil rights landmark locations will be shared up-close and personal."

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.

For three hours, the tour will provide an experience like no other. Every location will evoke a time and period of Civil Rights, including Ralph Abernathy's West Hunter Street Baptist Church, the mural of John Lewis, and the office of SCLC on Auburn where MLK, Abernathy, Andy Young and Hosea Williams developed strategy that changed the world.

"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.