Where History Lives
Every city has a story. Atlanta lives it, breathes it, and invites you to walk through it.
As marketers, we spend our careers trying to build brands and marketing connections that resonate on a human level, brands that stand for something. During Black History Month, Atlanta offers us a masterclass in exactly that. And with one week left, there is still time to experience it firsthand. This month has been an invitation to engage with the places, the stories, and the living history that make our city one of the most important in the American narrative. Here are some places to experience Black history this month.
The original brand story
In the 1940s and 1950s, Sweet Auburn thrived, the result of community building, entrepreneurial grit, and a shared identity so powerful it created an economic engine despite Jim Crow-era segregation. Sweet Auburn was home to more than 140 Black-owned businesses, from the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, founded by former slave Alonzo Herndon, to The Atlanta Daily World, the nation’s first Black-owned daily newspaper. The Rucker Building, Atlanta’s first Black-owned office building. The Royal Peacock Club hosted everyone from B.B. King to Gladys Knight. These entrepreneurs built a brand ecosystem rooted in community and economic self-determination. That is a brand strategy that any modern marketer can learn from.
Today, you can visit the APEX Museum (African-American Panoramic Experience), the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History, the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, and the churches that anchored the community, including Big Bethel AME and Wheat Street Baptist Church. The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, where the shoe prints of Rosa Parks, Andrew Young, Thurgood Marshall, and other heroes are set in stone, sits behind the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park visitor center.
The birthplace of a message
Black history in Atlanta begins with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Born at 501 Auburn Avenue in 1929, King grew up in the church, the community, and the tradition of moral leadership that Sweet Auburn cultivated. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park includes his birth home, the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he, his father, and his grandfather preached, and The King Center. King was one of the most effective communicators in American history. A message that is simultaneously personal and universally resonant is something every marketer aspires to create.
Freshly expanded and more story to share
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is a destination that captures the intersection of history and storytelling. The Center reopened in November 2025 after a $58 million expansion that nearly doubled its size, adding 24,000 square feet, six new galleries, three classrooms, and two new wings: the Shirley Clarke Franklin Pavilion and the Arthur M. Blank Inspiration Hall. Its flagship gallery, “Rolls Down Like Water: The American Civil Rights Movement,” has been reimagined with expanded interactive experiences.
We spoke with Tenisha Griggs, VP of Marketing at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, who shared, “Atlanta is the birthplace of the civil rights movement and is an ongoing narrative for civil and human rights. Part of the Center’s mission is to present a complete history through immersive, interactive exhibits, where people hear authentic stories.”
The marketer’s takeaway
Black History Month in Atlanta is an active experience. Every site, every story, every institution in this city reinforces that the most powerful brands are those built on authenticity, purpose, and the courage to tell stories that matter. Atlanta gave the civil rights movement its voice, its strategy, and its spiritual center. As marketers living and working in this city, we have the privilege of walking through that history. There is still time in this last week to learn and experience our Atlanta landmarks firsthand.
About the Author
Victoria Jones is the founder of Brand Anthem, a fractional CMO and brand strategy firm serving mid-market, PE-backed, and founder-led B2B organizations. With 25+ years of marketing leadership spanning Fortune 500 companies, marketing agencies, and board positions, she specializes in helping companies build growth narratives and go-to-market strategies that drive measurable results.