It`s the home of Blues, Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley and a whole lot of history. We planned on experiencing as much of the above list with the short time we had.
Our first impression of Memphis wasn’t the best – at this time of year the tourists are not in full force, and the downtown area of town doesn’t buzz as we thought it might – even Beale Street seemed to need a little pick me up! Couple this with the countless panhandlers asking for cash and food, we felt as though downtown Memphis has been the most intimidating destination so far on our trip.
A major point of history that occurred in the city of Memphis is of course the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Today the museum has been converted into a museum about the black history of the States, titled the `Civil Rights Museum`.
As mentioned in previous posts, coming from New Zealand our knowledge on American History is very little, so once again this museum was able to fill in the gaps on racism in the South of the USA. During the visit, you are given the chance at a first person perspective of the assassination site, both from the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel, and also the bathroom from the across the road where James Earl Jones fired the lethal shot.
On leaving the exhibit we were also very fortunate to run into the Reverend `Billy` Kyle, who was standing with Martin Luther King Jr as the shot fired. He also was first to Dr Kings aid, grabbing a cigarette from his hand and covering him with a blanket as he lay after the lethal shot. It was an honour to meet this man, who stood on that balcony on that fateful night.
On leaving the museum, it’s hard not to spot a lady across the road named Jacqueline Smith. This lady was once a resident at the Lorraine Motel, and has been protesting the `Civil Rights Museum` since day one. That’s over 21 years in the same spot. She contests that there shouldn’t be a museum in this spot, and that it should still provide cheap accommodation for the city. We caught her as she spoke with High School Students who had gathered around her. Some of her points were valid – and some we didn’t agree with. In particular her point about why there`s a Civil Rights Museum in the first place – she claimed that if we wanted the information we could look online for it. We disagree, if this museum had never been, we wouldn’t have researched this topic on our own. The only reason we now know the real stories and events from Black US History is thanks to this museum. A place we would highly recommend.
