National Civil Rights Museum

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

The Lorraine Motel, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, is now a museum documenting the Civil Rights Movement.. Overview
A civil rights timeline notes the struggles of the movement, concentrating on the influential events of the 1950s and 1960s. Ten-thousand square feet of permanent exhibits plunge visitors into the sights and sounds of history including the Freedom Rides, Student Sit-Ins, Brown vs. Board of Education, and a wealth of other historical figures and events.

The Experience
A gospel hymn, "Precious Lord" plays softly on the approach to the hotel balcony where Dr. King drew his last breath. This poignant tribute is the heart of the museum. Visitors can also climb aboard a public bus like the one Rosa Parks rode, only to hear a voice telling them to move to the back. In this way, visitors can (however fleetingly) experience the pangs of prejudice.

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dana912

Joined 11 years ago

New Wing - Go Again and Again. My friend and I were lucky enough to be in Memphis on vacation at the same time the new wing that incorporates James Earl Ray's boarding house was being dedicated. We explored both the new wing and the main wing and let me tell you this was the most powerful museum I have ever been to. The staff was very friendly and informative and the exhibits - the way they followed history lines from the early 1800's to present time - were spectacular. The tourbooks reccommend giving yourself 1-2 hours. I reccommend much more then that if you want to be able to explore everything.

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vernonshaw

Joined 11 years ago

IMMENSE. If you take the tour and read the attractions, you will start to feel what they felt, and it will really move you.

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Martha_young

Joined 11 years ago

Moving experience.. I visited this museum for the first and only time back in 1994, and it still sits in my memory as one of the best museum experiences of my life (and I've travelled pretty extensively).

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ddoug7

Joined 11 years ago

UNBELIEVABLE. I visited this museum with my church in March-02. I did not know what to expect and was totally blown away. I can't explain the emotions that overcame me. The displays, writings, pictures, the whole museum is beyond description. This is a highly, highly recommended museum to visit.