Remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a visit to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was assassinated outside of room 306 on April 4, 1968, and the building was turned into the first civil rights museum in the country. Today, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel is a complex of museum and historic buildings that trace the path of the Civil Right Movement in the United States.
History
The Lorraine Motel was a safe haven for black travelers and visitors to Memphis in the 40’s, 50’, and 60’s. Because of its proximity to Beale Street, many famous musicians stayed here— Ray Charles, Otis Reading, and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the motel’s most famous guest. He stayed at the motel many times, including the day he was shot. Room 306 was never rented again and has been preserved in exactly the way it looked on that tragic day.
Exhibits
Lorraine Building – Most of the interior of the Lorraine Building has been renovated, but the façade and room 306 remain intact. The museum contains 260 artifacts, over 40 films, and interactive media arranged in chronological order tell the story of key episodes of the Civil Rights Movement.
Legacy Building – The Legacy Building is the boarding house from which the assassin’s shot was fired. On the second floor, you can learn about the investigation of the assassination. You will also learn about how the Civil Rights Movement continues today.
Some of the permanent exhibits in the buildings include:
- Sitting Down: Student Sit-Ins 1960
- The Year They Walked: Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-1956
- We are Prepared to Die: Freedom Rides 1961
National Civil Rights Museum
450 Mulberry Street
Memphis, TN 38103
