The Lorraine Motel

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee is tucked discreetly near Beale Street, the hub of the city's, maybe even the nation's, blues scene. The museum is built into the block that held the Lorraine Hotel and Motel. Both exteriors are preserved as they were in the sixties, with but an added wreath on the balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. lost his life to a sniper's bullet.

The museum, recently reopened after renovation, is a comprehensive trip through civil rights history, with large graphic displays, and countless blocks of text. The 2 1/2 hours we spent was not nearly enough to digest it all. The tour guides were, again, spectacular, engaging the Monarchs in conversation instead of simply reiterating facts. They pushed and prodded the players for answers and connections to current events.

The introductory film was a wakeup call to exactly how much we experienced the last week. As the opening montage flashed images of the 16th Street Baptist Church, The Edmund Pettus Bridge, Medgar Evers' Home, and Little Rock Central HS, it was remarkable that we'd visited all those places just the last few days.

Despite all the film clips included in the presentation, it was the jarring still images, moments frozen in time, that had the most impac; freezing museum patrons in their tracks, and requiring a second, closer examination. I was surprised to see a color cover of LIFE magazine from March 15,1965 of the voting rights marchers approaching the police after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I can only imagine the shock of Life's photographers when this peaceful march turned into an armed assault. Charles Moore, Flip Schulke and Frank Dandridge are the credited photographers online, but no individual credits are mentioned.

This tour guide, whose name I unfortunately misplaced, was brilliant...like a grandfather telling animated stories, and asking tough questions.

The interactive displays were incredibly engaging, from sculptures of young African men seated in a row on a ship in the middle passage, to recreations of placards and signs held aloft during the protests for simple human rights.

After the tour the Monarchs gathered in a downstairs classroom for a lecture/discussion by Charles McKinney, Associate Professor and Director of the Africana Studies Program at Rhodes College. Again, the storytelling was engaging for the players, and the conversation was clearly supported by all they had learned and experienced the last few days. I'll assume Professor McKinney's classes are packed every semester.

Professor Charles McKinney

I heard that during the renovations, visitors were allowed on the balcony, and requested to photograph the team on the infamous corner by room 306. After nearly two hours, the request was denied and we settled for a group shot by the Lorraine Motel sign. I must confess, while I would have loved to have that picture of the Monarchs on the balcony, I really wanted to stand in the spot that famous image was taken. Not to be.

Overnight in Nashville tonight, and on to Louisville tomorrow.