Kitsch trumped conscience in terms of my Memphis priorities. After overdosing on the former at Graceland, we headed to the Lorraine Motel just as the sun was starting to set.
In April 1968, a White supremacist assassin murdered Martin Luther King, Jr. on the balcony marked by a wreath. The 1959 Dodge Royal and 1968 Cadillac are replicas of the cars parked in front that shameful day. The Lorraine was in the Green Book at the time, often attracting the musicians who played on Beale Street. The owner never again rented room 306.
The motel, now part of the National Civil Rights Museum, was closed by the time we arrived.
Local social justice warriors are honored on the Upstanders mural across the street.
No comments:
Post a Comment