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National Civil Rights Museum
450 Mulberry Street
Memphis, TN
38103
Tel: 901-521-9699
Fax: 901-521-9740
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How is it Remembered?
In 1968, the attention of the nation was focused on the Lorraine Motel. The aftershock of this event would plunge the Lorraine Motel, a small minority-owned business in the south-end of downtown Memphis, into a long and steep decline. Its owner/operator sought public assistance to maintain the site that had now become historic.
By 1982, the Lorraine Motel was a foreclosed property. A group of prominent Memphians, concerned that this historic site would be destroyed through continued neglect and indifference, formed the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation to save the Lorraine.
On September 28, 1991, the National Civil Rights Museum opened its doors to visitors. Built on the motel site, the museum has preserved the facade of the motel and the balcony where Dr. King last stood. The museum’s expansion project, “Exploring the Legacy,” opened in September 2002.
“Exploring the Legacy” includes an overview of some of the world?s most crucial human rights movements and interactive exhibits about the achievements gained through the efforts and sacrifices of courageous individuals who stood by their convictions.
The Museum brings to life some of the most pivotal events of the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Recreated environments with video and sound place visitors at a Sit-In counter protest or the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
"When they described the actual incident of the shooting of Martin Luther King, it was a traumatic experience... I could not be composed"
Nelson Mandela, on his visit to the National Civil Rights Museum, November 2000