Ebenezer Baptist Church has been a spiritual, social, and political center and a home-away-from-home for generations of black Atlantans. Under the leadership of the Williams and King families, the church dedicated itself to helping individuals with their everyday food, shelter, and health needs. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Ebenezer gained a worldwide reputation as a springboard for educational, voter registration, and other civic reforms.