Martin Luther King visited the Lorraine Motel on his tour making Civil Rights speeches in 1968. He and his aids, including his brother, shared rooms 106 (aids) and 107 (MLK). It had been raining hard and he had not expected people to come out to the local church to hear him speak, so he sent an aid to check the audience out. The aid found a full house waiting to hear a speech and telephoned MLK at the Motel (this was way before mobiles) to say the place was packed and they were waiting for him. (This was way before mobiles). Martin Luther King decided to attend but he hadn't written a speech and had to 'speak from the heart' about the need for action if his vision was to be achieved. The place erupted into applause, as the film shows him moving off the Dias. They returned to the Motel, relaxed, satisfied with the speech and woke in good spirits the next morning. On 6th April 1968 as Martin Luther King was leaving his room, just passing the door of room 106, a shot rang out and Martin Luther King dropped to the floor. There is a photograph taken seconds after the assassination with him slumped on the floor and his aids pointing towards the direction of the shot. James Earle Ray had shot through a bathroom window opposite the Lorraine and made off in the confusion.He was later discovered in London and stood trial in Memphis. He died in prison.
All this is illustrated in the Museum and so much more. As you walk through it takes you through the origins of slavery, the impact on black culture and shows the ways it was perpetuated; such as not allowing slaves to be educated, intimidation and violence to hold them down and legislation to keep them in their place. It was an up hill struggle for equal rights and Martin Luther King was just one of the many who were stopped by violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment