Growing up in the far north you get a little insulated from things at times. I knew of the Civil Rights Movement and what it stood for when I was growing up, but the depth of the oppression was beyond what I even thought could happen. This is a great, and I mean GREAT attraction. Informative, well thought out. When I am in town I bring members of my team to see it. Whether they are from the North, like me, New England, the South, or Europe, they are always amazed. A great way to spend an afternoon.
I went all the way from Chicago to visit this museum on the eve of the 50th anniversary march at Selma. The museum is extraordinary and captures the progress of the civil rights movement chronologically from Emancipation and the emergence of a black voting block and election of black mayors, to the dark times of the compromise when an edict of equal but separate ushered in the area of segregation, Jim Crow and then through the various atrocities and civil disobedience protests of the Civil Rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King and others. To be at this museum is to be at the front of the movement as the various events that transpired and the various indignities that were visited on people who were nominally citizens of the United States only in name but not in terms of the basic right to vote. The museum has various sections that display the "Freedom Riders" and their defiance to face mobs who burnt down their buses. There is a exhibit of the carcass of a bus still smoldering with simulated fire as is there exhibits of the billy clubs, the tear gas canisters and the water hoses that were turned on the demonstrators. The museum also showcases the struggle for equality in education and the role of Thurgood Marshall and the Warren Supreme court in Brown vs Education. And then on to the gradual falling of barriers as voting was followed by EEOC regulations and ultimately the election of a African American President and the selection of capable and qualified African Americans to high positions in the Government.The last part of the tour takes the visitor into the motel room where Dr. King spent his last hours. There is a coffee service and an ash tray with the many cigarettes he smoked. The room has been preserved exactly as it was that fateful day. There is a window that provides a line of sight to that other window from which the sniper shot Dr. king as he stood in the balcony to greet the people who had come to see him. The sign for the motel has been frozen to what it was in 1968. There are two cars from that vintage parked in the motel parking lot in front of that ill-fated balcony and the brave man who stood on it.All in all,this museum is a very poignant one for all of us who have stood on the shoulders of the people who made it possible for people of color to be treated in all fairness for the quality of their lives and accomplishments rather than the color of their skin, and made America take another step in its already celebrated path to become the perfect society. The museum is especially valuable to remind children that freedom we enjoy and take for granted was never FREE, was hard earned with bloodshed, grit, determination and against all odds and must be constantly guarded and protected for this great nation to be the beacon for the rest of humanity - be it the freedom from British oppression or the freedom from white supremacy.
This museum was so much more than I expected! The exhibits and videos are very engaging as visitors walk through the timeline of the civil rights movement. Visitors can sit on the bus with Ruby Bridges or "sit in" at a lunch counter. The museum provides many powerful experiences leading up to King's assassination. The memorial for Martin Luther King, Jr. is extremely moving. The museum also does a wonderful job of continuing his legacy and inspiring future generations to continue to move forward.
我是从马丁路德金的年代走过来的,在情感上,还没准备好。这里组织有序,这边有许多视频材料来帮助理解。
I was in Memphis on business and took some time to visit this museum. I consider myself well versed in American history and left the museum with a great deal of new found knowledge. This is a must see while in Memphis.
这家博物馆的位置,两辆车停在洛林宾馆的外面,显示出参观这家博物馆的必要性。这里有对导致马丁路德金致死的事件的全面的描述和整个民权运动时期的各种事件的反映。
The Museum was relaunched last year following major upgrades, and well worth the wait. Exhibits are organized in chronological order, well documented and explained. Also added are exhibits across the street in the former boarding house where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot.
你觉得自己了解并且记得不久之前发生过的事情,但是在展览上的新闻图片以及照片还是能够震撼你。参观完之后的几天我的脑袋里还是那里看到的场景。
A must see if you are in Memphis, especially if you are with children. One of, if not, the best museum we have visited -- and we visit a lot of museums.
I must admit we did not get to go inside of the exhibit due to some electrical problems. Just standing there on the outside of the Museum just gave me a feeling of emotions. It just felt so surreal . To think that someone died there made me very emotional. Not just someone, but MLK. It saddened me, but it also humbled me. My 12 year also became overwhelmed by the thought.n