{"id":3050,"date":"2015-06-27T16:09:36","date_gmt":"2015-06-27T20:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.50.23\/wordpress\/blog\/?p=3050"},"modified":"2018-04-07T16:54:27","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T20:54:27","slug":"lorraine-motel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forths.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/27\/lorraine-motel\/","title":{"rendered":"Lorraine Motel"},"content":{"rendered":"

The iconic Joseph Louw photo is unforgettable. \u00a0Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lay on the second floor balcony while his aides point in the direction of his assassin’s position. \u00a0Whatever his intentions, James Earl Ray’s bullet only served to heighten the national awareness of the civil rights movement and forever change the Lorraine Motel. \u00a0Today, the Lorraine Motel (earlier called the Lorraine Hotel) serves as the\u00a0National Civil Rights Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When I learned that Nicki planned to do her first year of hospital rotations in Memphis, I planned on visiting the Lorraine Motel. \u00a0While unloading her furniture in an alley behind her building, I spoke to a cook named Jack who was taking a cigarette break. \u00a0He mentioned that the Lorraine Motel was only a few blocks from Nicki’s loft apartment. \u00a0We stopped by the Lorraine Motel 2 days later.<\/p>\n

The Lorraine Motel appears much as it did at the time of the April, 1968 assassination. \u00a0A ’59 Dodge and a ’68 Cadillac are parked below the balcony where similar models were parked at the time of the shooting. \u00a0A wreath hangs from the balcony rail near the place where Dr. King fell. \u00a0The museum also includes the red brick boarding house\u00a0from which James Earl Ray took his shot. \u00a0The entire scene is an incredibly sobering and powerful reminder of the racial hatred that Dr. King peacefully protested against.<\/p>\n

Nicki and I stopped in the museum store where she purchased a few books and a picture. \u00a0We talked about the struggles that people of other races have endured. \u00a0As young as she is, she’s keenly aware that racial discrimination still exists, and that there’s still work to be done. \u00a0To paraphrase Dr. King, I can hope for a time when people “… can\u00a0live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” \u00a0It’s hard to imagine a more powerful sentiment.<\/p>\n