ATLANTA — In celebration of Martin Luther King Day, all national park service sites will be free on Monday.
The Chattahoochee River National Recreation area is among the sites that will waive its parking fee on Monday, officials said.
Officials say the next free admission day will be on April 19, which will mark the first day of national park week.
Monday marks the third time in the nearly 40 years since the federal King holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday.
Rev. Bernice King, who is the youngest daughter Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, also is the CEO of the King Center in Atlanta.
She said it is a good thing that the holiday celebrating her late father falls on the same day as the presidential inauguration.
“It’s not a day that he can be the star, which he loves to be,” King’s daughter said of Trump. “He has to contend with that legacy on that day, regardless of how he manages it and handles it in his presentation. I hope those around him are advising him well to honor the day appropriately in his speech.”
There are several events and celebrations honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King on Monday in Atlanta.
Services at Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King was baptized and served as a co-pastor, are also honoring his life and legacy.
Many people braved frigid temperatures, but have said it is vital to celebrate his sacrifice and to keep his efforts to bring social justice to everyone alive.
A man told WSB Radio that he has been visiting every year for 46 years to honor Dr. King and what he did during his life.