The National Park Service plays a critical role in the nation's historic preservation efforts, ranging from Native American sites to 19th-century homesteads, from Civil War battlefields to places where Americans fought for civil rights and women's rights, from architectural masterpieces to sites of artistic achievement, and from early industrial cities to designed landscapes.
On October 10, 1980, the Ninety-sixth Congress passed Public Law 96-428, establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Historic Site to:
"...protect and interpret for the benefit, inspiration, and education of present and future generations the places where Martin Luther King, Jr., was born, where he lived, worked, and worshipped, and where he is buried..."
This Public Law also designated a largely private conservation district, extending protection over Dr. King's immediate neighborhood, including the commercial district of the Sweet Auburn Community.
On December 5, 1980, the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) was created to develop the residential properties surrounding Dr. King's birthplace and preserve the availability of affordable housing in the Sweet Auburn Community and Old Fourth Ward.
The facilities of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site (now a National Historical Park) and the HDDC are the legendary results of the courageous efforts of Mrs. Coretta Scott King to transform the Sweet Auburn Community from deterioration to revitalization for future generations.