Severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, this center of the community in New Orleans has, since 1866, hosted renowned leaders and numerous social events and movements. In December of 1961, Union Bethel opened her pulpit up to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., where he issued a call for a new “emancipation proclamation”, requesting that the president issue an executive order “declaring all segregation unconstitutional on the basis of the 14th amendment.”