Amazing History
Day #43
Tripometer: 5698.1 miles
Today I went into downtown Memphis to check out the National Civil Rights Museum. What an incredible experience. The museum is housed in the Lorraine Hotel which is where Martin Luther King Jr. was assisinated. The first part of the museum was a photo gallery of many different fights for civil rights. The dealt with freedom of speech issues, the women's liberation movement, the struggle of Native Americans to get recognition and Cesar Chavez and the fight of the farm workers. It's always amazing to me just how powerful photography is. The other amazing part of this exhibit was how the museum made a real effort to emphasize the importance of young people in such movements.
The rest of the museum was dedicated to the African American struggle for equal rights, more specifically to Martin Luther King Jr. There were a lot of photographs and personal accounts of the time. There were also many unique exhibits. You could walk through a classroom for black children and the a classroom for white children. You could sit at a lunch counter as a black person and hear the profanity that was often shouted and watch a video of some of the other abuse they encountered. It was really incredible. At some point and without completely realizing it I found myself standing in the hallway outside of the room the Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in before he was shot. You can look out at balcony and see the exact spot where he lay. It was very powerful.
After this I decided that I needed to do something a bit more upbeat so I went and toured the Sun Studios. This, at some point in their careers, was the recording studio for Elvis, Carl Perkins, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis among many others. It was a lot of fun. Everything in the studio is original from the instruments to the sound proof ceiling. The tour guide, who wanted to be called El Dorado was a
trip.
The National Civil Rights Museum
A Tribute To A Great Man
El Dorado
posted by Jenna Dabney @ 9:21 AM
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