A self-guided walking tour of spots on campus related to Martin Luther King Jr.’s time on ASU’s campus.
1010/1020 West University Drive – Former Spot of ASU Faculty House
In 1953, ASU Vice President Dr. Joseph T. Brooks, a classmate of Rev. King at Morehouse College, wrote to King’s parents in an attempt to bring King to Montgomery. When King visited to conduct his trial sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in October 1954, King stayed here in the Brooks’ home. Soon after, King became the minister at Dexter and moved his family to Montgomery. This house was a one-story wood building with two interior chimneys, a brick foundation, and a partial width porch.
First Baptist Parsonage – Abernathy House
Martin Luther King Jr came to this house with his predecessor, Vernon Johns, when he visited Montgomery to interview at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1954. King and Abernathy had already met in Atlanta and the two quickly became close friends and collaborators after King’s move to Montgomery. On the first morning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Abernathy and King watched the buses depart from ASU, unsure what would unfold. Notably, after Freedom Riders were assaulted by a mob at the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Montgomery, the parsonage was the location for a May 1961 press conference where Rev. Abernathy, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis announced the continuation of the Freedom Rides.
G.W. Trenholm Hall – former ASU Library
Named after ASU’s fourth president, this building was erected in 1948 and served as the school’s library until 1979. Dr. King had finished his coursework for his doctoral degree at Boston University before being called to pastor at Dexter. He finished his dissertation while living in Montgomery, working on it in the ASU library which was once in George Washington Trenholm Hall. The president of ASU at the time, Harper Council Trenholm, was a graduate of Morehouse College as was King. Trenholm gave king privileges to use the library while finishing his dissertation.
Shuttlesworth Dining Hall – former Charles Johnson Dunn Sports Arena
Prior to 2006, the Shuttlesworth Dining Hall was the Charles Johnson Dunn Sports Arena. Efforts among alumni and supporters to raise money for an arena-auditorium were launched in 1952, with the construction of the new facility beginning on Founder’s Day, 1955. Dubbed the “solicitation project,” the arena-auditorium was financed by public contributions and built by craftsmen employed by Alabama State College. The Arena, located on John Brown Hill, had a seating capacity of 3,000 for basketball games, a capacity of 4,000 if configured as an auditorium, while this same space could be transformed into a gymnasium for physical education instruction. The facility was built with four lounges, three snack bars, showers for basketball players, two scoreboards, a film room, bleaches and a section with individual cushioned seats. In 1955, King was asked to give the commencement speech. In 1958 King gave the founder’s day speech here to his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha. In this same arena, students learned of his assassination in 1968. Some students were at a Greek Step Show when news came in of MLK’s shooting. President Levi Watkins rushed to the area to be with students in case MLK died. When the show ended, Watkins announced the death of the civil rights leader and icon.
Friendship Manor
This was the ASU president’s home from the 1920s to the 1970s, housing three presidents. During the Levi Watkins administration, the house became known as ‘Friendship Manor.’ The house was originally located on Thurman street. In 1955, ASU president Harper Councill Trenholm invited MLK to give the baccalaureate sermon. Prior to the speech, MLK dined in the president’s house with Trenholm. In 1956, after his home was bombed, MLK also stayed here. Following King’s assassination, Students gathered on lawn demanding to speak to the president. The students wanted the next day off. President Watkins did not go out to speak to the students, but released a statement the next day that classes were suspended.
Tullibody Fine Arts Center
Built on the site of Old Tullibody hall, which served as the auditorium for events and speakers, amongst other things.During the Kings’ time in Montgomery, Martin Luther King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, taught piano and held recitals in the old Tullibody Hall. In March of 1956, Mrs. King judged a “talent hunt program” put on by the Gamma Sigma and Sigma Phi chapters of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Paterson Hall
This two-story brick building originally housed nine regular classrooms, two classrooms for Plastic-Graphic Arts, three classrooms for Home Arts, one double classroom for the Communications Laboratory, and one lecture-assembly room with seating for 340 students. The building was named for ASU president William Burns Paterson. The attic was remodeled to serve as temporary quarters for the library. The library was moved to G. W. Trenholm Hall in 1948. The building then was used to house the central administration offices, classrooms and offices for Student Financial Aid, Career Planning and Placement, Co-operative Education Reading Center and ROTC. The administrative offices were moved to Councill Hall in 1955. King attended meetings at the 2nd floor home economics department dining hall along with Ralph David Abernathy.
Alpha Phi Alpha Marker
In 1952, King became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha while at Boston University. Upon moving to Montgomery, King joined the Alpha Upsilon chapter. King’s fraternity brothers supported him throughout the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other civil rights activity in the city. June 1, 1955, The Reverend Archibald J. Carey, Jr., speaks at a citizenship rally sponsored by Alabama State College’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. King gives the benediction. King also spoke on campus in 1958 for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Founder’s Day celebration as a member.
