Just ahead of Martin Luther King Day, President Obama announced that a Birmingham district once marked for violent civil rights struggles will be designated as a historic national monument.

President Obama on Thursday said that the area known as the Birmingham Civil Rights District will soon be known as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. The site will encompass several blocks that include historic markers like the 16th Street Baptist Church, Bethel Baptist Church, the A.G. Gaston Motel, and other landmarks.

Additionally, Obama’s order means that Freedom Riders Park in Anniston will also be named a national monument.

“These monuments preserve the vibrant history of the Reconstruction Era and its role in redefining freedom,” Obama said in a statement. “They tell the important stories of the citizens who helped launch the civil rights movement in Birmingham and the Freedom Riders whose bravery raised national awareness of segregation and violence.”

“These stories are part of our shared history,” he added.

Plans for the new monuments have been in the works for years, though it could take years in planning and community coordination before the new plans become a reality.

In a separate but corresponding announcement, the National Parks Service funding for 39 new monument projects across 20 states. Four will be located in the Birmingham area, and are set to receive about $1,000,000 in federal grant money.

In addition to the monuments President Obama announced for Alabama, landmarks will be added in South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and other states. In total, the National Parks Service will commit nearly $8 million to establish for the new historic sites.