MLK

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

-U2, "Pride"

I visited the Lorraine Motel in June '05. I'm glad I went. Strange as this may seem, it was a part of America that I missed while growing up.

See, at age 34, I was too young to experience the civil rights movement (or Watergate or Vietnam for that matter). And to continue my general lack of knowledge, I don't recall my history classes ever really getting past WWII in any meaningful manner. That is, during the 1980s, history pretty much "ended" in 1945 or so... at least that's how I remember it. I'm not sure why that is, although I have some ideas.

Anyway, I've tried to take it upon myself to learn about the 60s and 70s... doing as much "in person" research as I can... by visiting places such as the Lorraine Motel and the Edmund Pettis Bridge.

If you ever have the chance, I strongly encourage you to visit Memphis (great town) and the current occupant of the Lorraine Motel, the National Civil Rights Museum. From the perspective of someone who was never taught too much about the civil rights movement in school, this tribute to both the movement and to Martin Luther King is both painful and inspiring.

Tim White