Sep 15
Happy Birthday to my awesome son, Scott! Nice chat today!
We visited the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr. was assassinated on the balcony outside room 306.
room 306 & memorial wreath
It's a large museum and takes a while to tour. The first part is a timeline of MLK and also everything else going on in history at the time. Very interesting, but it's a small space and with so much to read, it was quite crowded. A different layout with more visuals might be more effective, but we finally made it through that first section. No photos were allowed in this area for some reason.
From there, we were led into another room that highlighted slavery. Then, there is a 12 minute film that was very good. From there they want you to follow into the next exhibit, but it was lunch time and we went back to Central BBQ to have their ribs and Brisket
for lunch. Big mistake on our part. The pulled pork was really good that we had for lunch the day before, but the ribs were dry and the brisket was not all that tender or smoky. The atmosphere and the music were good but the food could have been better for one of the top rated BBQ joints. The banana puddin' was very good however! I'd stick with the pulled pork based on our experience.
ribs, home-made chips & beans
beef brisket, mac & cheese and Potato salad
he said he was B. B. King's first sax player - he's 88
Refreshed, we went back to finish the Civil Rights Museum. We went across the street where the museum continues in the motel where James Earl Jones stayed. It had a timeline of his time leading up to the assignation of MLK Jr. and his escape and finally being caught. There was also an exhibit on all of the theories of possible accomplices or if he was the one that actually did it at all.
Ford Mustang 1966 - replica of car owned by James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray's room - recreation
the view from the motel across the street to the Lorraine Motel
view from the motel across the street of the balcony where he was shot
recreation of the bathroom where the shot came from - he would have had to have stood on the rim of the tub to make the shot
bullet taken from MLK's body
From there we went back and finished the exhibits in the main section. It took us through history to today. From the Jim Crow Laws to the Garbage workers strike.
Rosa Parks
garbage workers strike
Ben Branch was requested to play for him
the balcony from the hotel where he was shot
room 306 where he often stayed and where he was staying the night he was shot
outside of the motel
the motel across the street where the shot came from
many thought the shot came from the small window, some thought it was from behind a bush on the ground
Very insightful look back at history and a very sobering day.
The woman who has been protesting the National Civil Rights Museum for more than 30 years. Smith said she used to stay and be employed at the Lorraine Motel before it was closed to make way for the museum. She thinks it should be a homeless shelter not a museum.
Tomorrow, we plan on taking a 90 minute Paddlewheel Boat ride on the Mississippi River.
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