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]]>No discussion about American music can be complete without a discussion about Memphis. Memphis is, hands-down, home to much of what we know as modern American music. Soul, gospel, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and other genres of music all have their roots in the city. Three specific landmarks exist in the city as a tribute to Memphis music history heritage: the Blues Hall of Fame (421 S. Main Street); Rock and Soul Museum (191 Beale Street); and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, at 926 E. McLemore Avenue at the site of the original Stax Records.
The Memphis Music History is as old as the city itself. At the beginning of the last century, Memphis was a convergence of African-American commerce and culture. Traditional spirituals handed down from generations of enslaved blacks to free people became the foundation for the blues and artists like W.C. Handy. Handy is often called the “Father of the Blues,” having brought his band to Memphis in 1909 to play in the clubs on Beale Street to showcase this distinctive style of music.
The genres (and artists) of Memphis
Memphis is host to many who have come through the city to play Beale Street or make their mark in “Bluff City.” Along with Handy and the blues came the introduction of the electric guitar in 1945 (after World War II) and with it, the advent of a newer form of music called rock ‘n’ roll. Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and others recorded tracks in the famous studios of Memphis and further solidified the city’s influence on the music of this country.
Sun Studio and Stax Records
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Two of the best locations to visit Memphis Music History are Sun Studio and Stax Records
Sun Studio, located at 706 Union Avenue, was started by one of the fathers of rock ‘n’ roll, Sam Phillips, in 1950. It was the commingling of the Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records that formed Sun Studio, and until 1969, it was the producer of acts and artists such as B.B. King, Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis and of course, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. The studio’s claim to fame is that it is where the first rock ‘n’ roll record was produced: “Rocket 88,” in April 1951.
Stax Records was born in 1957. The original Stax was named Satellite Records until it changed its name to Stax in 1961. The company brought to the forefront American and Memphis soul, as well as gospel, funk and the “Delta” blues. Its most famous act was Otis Redding, and after his death in 1967, the studio struggled to stay in competition with Detroit’s Motown.
The music of Memphis has evolved from its long, rich history. The legends of the past have created a legacy that newer artists can only hope to imitate but never really duplicate. A walk along Beale Street should invoke the memory of the great musicians who have come to and played in Memphis. It is also a great place to connect with the city’s musical past, present and future!
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]]>The history of Memphis Central Station
Railroads played an important role in the growth of Memphis, which has served as a commercial hub for years.
The railroad transfer in Memphis was a key business transportation advantage among traders who loved the idea of using the train instead of steamboats or road-based transportation. The railroad grew popular during the era of the Civil War, and Memphis eventually became the first railroad junction to connect to Little Rock, Arkansas, which served as a crucial mode of transfer for many.
Grand Central Memphis was opened to the public in 1914. Its original name was changed to Memphis Central Station in 1944, by which point it was serving as a passenger terminal for railroad interstate transfers. Previously owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, the station is a registered passenger terminal of Amtrak and the MATA trolley system at present.
Visiting Memphis Central Station
If you’re interested in checking out this historic railroad station during your Tennessean vacation, you’ll find it on Patterson Boulevard in the Downtown Memphis area. After undergoing a massive makeover in 1998, the Memphis Central Station of today is a completely renovated and restored commercial and passenger hub.
Just a few steps from the Memphis Central Station is the Memphis Railroad and Trolley Museum, where you can spend hours exploring a variety of exhibits and learning more about the history of the railroad in the city. While most parts of the station have been modernized, the freight tunnel nestled some 300 yards beneath the station still looks the same as when it was built in the early 1900s, and visitors can explore this tunnel and its adjacent baggage room with a museum volunteer.
Beyond history, landmarks and museums, the area is also home to Memphis’ oldest eatery, the Greek-inspired Arcade Restaurant that has been serving its patrons since 1919. You can become its latest patron when you sit down for a hearty lunch and enjoy some classic favorites from the menu. Just a few minutes away, the Memphis Farmers Market offers shopping and dining opportunities for guests of all ages.
Next time you visit Memphis, be sure to visit this historic landmark that played a significant role in Memphis’ economic growth.
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]]>- Memphis’ largest maritime disaster occurred in 1865
On April 27, 1865, a steamboat known as the Sultana exploded just north of Memphis, killing more than 1800 of the union prisoners aboard who had just been released from Alabama and were headed to New Orleans. Despite having a capacity of just 376, the boat was holding more than 2,100 passengers, and the excess weight caused three of its boilers to explode. If you can’t believe you’ve never heard of this tragedy, here’s some historical context for you: It happened the same week as the assassination of President Lincoln.
- Tom Lee Park is named for the hero of another steamboat disaster
You’ve probably heard of Tom Lee Park, but did you know that Tom Lee saved 32 passengers from a sinking steamboat on May 8, 1925? Lee, a river worker, saw the M.E. Norman capsize and rushed to assist the passengers. At 23 deaths, the loss of life was still significant, but Lee’s intervention prevented a far bigger tragedy.
- Memphis was home to the South’s first African-American millionaire
Robert R. Church, also known as the South’s first African-American millionaire, developed his riches by purchasing real estate. After amassing his wealth, he paid it forward by opening the first black-owned business in Memphis—a bank that extended credit to black entrepreneurs and residents looking to build homes or establish businesses of their own. Church is also known for paying a $1,000 bond to restore the city’s charter. To honor his memory, modern-day Memphians can head to Robert Church Park, which is located adjacent to the FedEx Forum.
- Memphis didn’t have parks until the late 1800s
The parks we know and love in today’s Memphis were created as part of the City Beautification Movement, a reform philosophy that took off in North America in the 1890s. Before then, Memphis was an agricultural city known for having the world’s largest market for spot cotton, hardwood lumber and mules. Today, Memphis is home to a wide array of green spaces—notably Shelby Farms Park, which is one of the 20 largest urban parks in the country.
- A quartet of Memphis thoroughfares used to be named after the four seasons
Modern-day Memphis residents and frequent visitors to the Bluff City will probably be familiar with Summer Ave. and Autumn Ave., but did you know there used to be a Winter Ave. and a Spring Ave. to round out the set? The former is now known as Faxon Ave., while the latter’s current name is Forrest Ave. We bet you’ll remember this fun fact next time you’re driving in the city!
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]]>“Memphis Heritage Trail will be another great addition to our city as we educate and celebrate our rich cultural history,” the mayor said, and you’ll get no argument from us! The trail and the simultaneously-launched Memphis Heritage Trail app make it easier than ever to find historically significant and culturally rich sites in Memphis—of which there are many.
Heritage and history
One of the greatest (and most overdue) accomplishments of the Memphis Heritage Trail is the fact that it highlights African-American history and achievement. From the National Civil Rights Museum and the Blues Hall of Fame to the Clayborn Temple and the historic Mulberry Street shotgun houses, examples of the city’s African-American history are at the heart of the Memphis Heritage Trail.
The trail is a great way for Memphians to connect with our shared history, but it’s also more than that. This ongoing revitalization project will renovate existing structures and attract tourists to the area, all while revitalizing historically rich yet often-underserved parts of the city. As Felicia Harris, manager of planning and development for the trail, explained, “It’s about educating our future, our children, and our residents and our visitors alike about all the beautiful assets that Memphis has to offer.”
Exploring the trail
To start exploring the Memphis Heritage Trail, be sure to download the app, which makes it easy to find your way to historic sites across the city. There’s also an online map on the trail’s official website and, for those who are less technologically inclined, a printable driving brochure is available as well. After you set off, you’ll see wayfinding signage, beacon technology, art installations and historical markers along the trail, many of which provide historical information in addition to pointing the way.
Keep in mind that the Memphis Heritage Trail is a work in progress with two of the four planned trail loops currently open. The Civil Rights Loop and the Entertainment Loop are each about 2 miles long and include nearly 30 historic sites. Of course, there are many more miles and sites to come as progress on the trail continues.
To learn more about the Memphis Heritage Trail, download the app today and start exploring! The trail offers everyone from visiting tourists to longtime Memphis residents the chance to connect with the city’s rich cultural history in a deeper way than ever before.
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]]>So, how is Memphis a phoenix? If you studied mythology because you were a nerd like me or if you read or watched any Harry Potter films (which also makes you a nerd!) then you know that a phoenix is a bird that sets itself on fire to regenerate. When you look at Memphis, you see that cycle too. Memphis has constantly risen from its own ashes, never losing hope along the way.
Following the Yellow Fever epidemic in the 1870s, the city lost over 50% of its population and ultimately its charter, but this setback could not stop Memphis. With the establishment of a revolutionary sanitation system, Memphis fought back the source of the disease and transformed the way the world handled its waste. However, little did the city know that these newly created sanitation jobs would catalyze a more insidious tragedy a few short decades later with the deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker. In 1968 these sanitation workers were crushed to death while seeking shelter from the rain.
In a flash, Memphis’ and the south’s history of socioeconomic imbalance and systematic racism towards the African American community catapulted the city to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King came to help organize a strike for Memphis sanitation workers. On April 4th, 1968 a shot rang out at 6:01 pm piercing the Civil Rights leader through the throat. A photographer, Joseph Louw, would shoot an iconic photograph of three men pointing upwards, trying to ascertain where the shot came from while the life seeped from the King on the ground. He would not make it to the Promised Land with us.
However, there was a fifth subject in the photo- Memphis.
In mythology, the Phoenix doesn’t always combust to start itself anew. Sometimes it rises from its own decay. Among the older generations in Memphis, there’s a sentiment that Memphis froze in place after they shot King, but nothing stops time.
In the following decades, Memphis found itself with problems faced by metros across the nation. From white flight and annexation, to the crack epidemic and the subsequent War on Drugs that hollowed out the neighborhoods I now cherish and consider home. Memphis was decaying. Our city became more impoverished, less safe, and seemingly less relevant every day. But while Memphis appeared to be heading towards its worst, life was beginning to stir in its ashes.
Since the assassination, we’ve made progress. A recent study published by the National Civil Rights Museum and the University of Memphis found that since the 1960’s, black families have attained more high school diplomas and more post-secondary degrees. Additionally, these citizens have accessed more white-collar jobs. However, progress has been slow and black families have not caught up to their white counterparts in median income levels. Memphis, unfortunately, recently recaptured the title of the most impoverished metro in the nation. Child poverty rates have climbed to the same levels as the 1980’s and affect black children the hardest.
In this way Memphis is not unique; our issues simply mirror the ills of society. But given our history, isn’t Memphis uniquely positioned to show the rest of the country how to fix these issues? Isn’t that our duty as a city- to model Dr. King’s radical legacy of racial and socio-economic justice? So, as we ask ourselves the question, “Where do we go from here?” I can see no other way except forward.
As Dr. King said, “Something is happening in Memphis. Something is happening in the world.” Every day at my job, I have the privilege of witnessing the people on the ground doing the hard work in education, in neighborhood connectivity, and in arts and culture. In the next 5-10 years, the landscape of the city will shift drastically. The riverfront will change and allow more people to have access to it, the future Greenprint will connect the entire county through bikeways and trails and community development corporations like The Works in South Memphis are working tirelessly to help lower income families afford homes and claim their part of the American Dream. In the arts, organizations like the Collective and the Center for Southern Literary Arts both beautify the city through art and make space for marginalized voices. In education, I get to witness the sharpest minds work to make our system more equitable and advocate for both parents and students.
The city is witnessing an undeniable shift. Memphis’ indomitable spirit has returned. The conversations feel more thoughtful and intentional. People ask about the racial implications of new policies and the effects on our lower-income communities. We understand as citizens that another fifty years cannot pass us by without us making substantial and lasting changes in our communities.
Dr. King posed this question, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” When presented with these options, Memphis should always choose community.
Memphis is not perfect. I fell in love with neither the city’s perfections nor its imperfections; I fell in love with Memphis’ people. Untiring. Unshakeable. Unrivaled. I know whatever challenges we face this city will prevail and will rise to confront any difficulties ahead. There is still much work to be done.
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]]>McKissick, now age 79, is a Memphian through and through. A native of North Memphis, she graduated from Douglass High School and received her teacher training through her years studying at historically black LeMoyne-Owen College and the University of Memphis, then known as Memphis State.
Like McKissick’s teaching career, Georgia Avenue, which closed several years ago, was brand new in 1960. McKissick, who comes from a family of teachers, entered the classroom with tremendous enthusiasm and passion for education.
But she also felt a strong sense of duty to nurture and provide a safe space for the children entrusted to her care each day, particularly during a time of tremendous upheaval in Memphis.
In 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to Memphis to support the sanitation workers’ struggle for equal pay and safer working conditions, McKissick was teaching at Lincoln Junior High, located in an impoverished African American community. All 800 students at the school were black, as were all faculty members, except for four white teachers.
“The kids did know, in a sense, what was happening, but they weren’t as aware because they didn’t have television — we didn’t have that much news,” said McKissick, who taught at Lincoln for 14 years. “There was not a lot of discussion around it, but we knew something was going to happen for the sanitation workers.”
McKissick had first-hand insight into developments in the community because of her father’s involvement in the civil rights movement.
“He wanted us to be part of the movement, as he was when he was a Firestone worker,” she said. “We watched him create changes there at Firestone. He’s the one who integrated the cafeteria there.” There were eight kids in my family, and we were aware of the struggles – the segregation and everything that was going on, maybe more so than other young people because of our dad.”
McKissick said civil unrest spread throughout the community, and the NAACP began organizing Black Monday boycotts against Memphis City Schools. Students and teachers throughout the city protested inequality in the classroom by boycotting schools on Mondays, and black workers from various sectors across the city joined them in a show of solidarity.
“We started to have turmoil throughout the communities,” she said. “On Black Mondays, teachers and staff members were encouraged to stay away from school to honor what was going on at that time.”
McKissick, however, remained at Lincoln on Mondays for children who needed a safe space.
“I did not stay away,” she said. “I would go to school but still honor what was going on…I felt I needed to be at school with my kids because I knew they were fearful, and they felt safe at school. Our school didn’t have many kids who were absent during those turbulent times because a lot of our teachers were at school. It was scary, but we assured them we were there to keep them safe.”
On April 4, 1968, McKissick learned through a radio broadcast that Dr. King had been assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.
“We were stunned that it happened,” she said. “The children had questions about why it happened and what was going on, and we tried to get them to understand that things were changing, as Dr. King had talked about in his speeches. Change had to come, but he wanted things to be peaceful. And we told them we wanted everything to be peaceful at school.”
During her 58 years in Memphis’ public schools, McKissick has witnessed more change than any other educator in the city – from segregation to integration to re-segregation.
“Things have changed quite a bit — from bussing kids from their communities to other places in an attempt to bring about some equality in education so they can all be prepared for the future. For some it worked well, while others found themselves back in their previous situation, in the re-segregation of schools, because many white kids did not attend those schools.”
Today, McKissick is principal of Avon Lenox High School, where she works with young adults with special needs.
“I love what I do and believe I made a difference in the lives of a lot of kids. I would say to young educators that there is hope. We have a lot of work to do. It’s our responsibility to prepare our children.”
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]]>Wednesday, April 4, will be a day of remembrance across the city. During the black sanitation workers’ movement, there was a call for change that needed a voice, and Dr. King provided it. Ultimately, he gave his life in service to our community. Although we will remember what came before, April 4 will also be a day of looking forward.
At 10 a.m., a daylong celebration of Dr. King’s legacy will begin on the Main Stage in the museum courtyard at the National Civil Rights Museum, featuring music, dance and spoken word performances. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
Also on April 4, an anniversary ceremony will be held from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Wreath-laying, music and spoken word performances, and an ecumenical liturgy will lead up to the time at which Dr. King was shot—6:01 p.m. At this point, a bell will toll to mark the exact passing of 50 years since that fateful day. Across the nation, the bells of schools, churches, and colleges will ring 39 times—once for each year of Dr. King’s life.
Following the bell toll, MLK50 will conclude with An Evening of Storytelling, with veterans from the front lines of the fight for civil rights both yesterday and today taking the stage at the Crosstown Concourse to reflect upon the fight up to this point as well as what lies ahead. The evening will focus on the main question of MLK50—”Where do we go from here?”—with a moderated discussion, music, and dance to celebrate Dr. King and what he continues to mean to the city of Memphis.
For more information on all scheduled activities for the April 4 commemoration, check out the MLK50 website.
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]]>Building Foundations
The lack of access to healthcare in Tennessee was exacerbated when the Tennessee legislature chose not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Healthcare Act in 2015. In Memphis, however, local organization Church Health has helped fill the void for those who work but have no insurance. This extensive health operation provides care, extends compassion and provides resources to 70,000 workers and their families across the community.
Since its inception in 1987, Church Health has been committed to healing bodies and spirits, so people can enjoy the full richness of life. Distinguished by a commitment to whole-body health and compassion, what began as a small medical clinic located in a house in Midtown Memphis gradually grew to a comprehensive operation occupying thirteen facilities.
In 2017, Church Health consolidated its facilities under one roof, relocating to Crosstown Concourse, a redeveloped Sears distribution center. As the anchor tenant, Church Health provides high-quality, affordable medical care, dental care, eye care, behavioral health services, nutrition programs, physical therapy, wellness and children’s programs. Church Health works closely with the 42 dynamic entities within Crosstown Concourse that focus on health, education, and the arts, sharing in a commitment to be “better together.”
Church Health employs 20 medical providers and engages 1,000 volunteer physicians. Primary care services are offered onsite while sub-specialist physicians care for patients in their offices and in hospitals without charging patients. In addition, diagnostic services and in-patient hospitalization are offered to Church Health patients, who will not incur any cost for care.
Their services are offered without relying on federal funding. Memphis ranks as one of the most charitable cities in America, and the work of Church Health reflects the incredible generosity present in this city.
Church Health’s approach to healthcare centers on a belief that health is not about the absence of disease, but instead, it is about helping others live a wholesome life. Church Health has developed a Model for Healthy Living, which asserts that there are seven elements that are equally important for a healthy life and must be in balance: movement, nutrition, work, faith, family and friends, emotions, and medical care. The Church Health programming and services are driven by the understanding of these elements.
Wholesome Living
Nutritional programs are facilitated in partnership with the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University, emphasizing the concept that “food is medicine.” Both healthcare providers and students are trained to understand the significance of balanced nutrition through courses aimed to build the skills and confidence to educate patients about food selection, preparation, and consumption.
Church Health’s dental program focuses on restoring patients’ smiles, oral health, and emotional well-being. Frequently, restored dental health leads to a patient’s improved sense of self-worth and ultimately to a higher-paying job offering health insurance.
A family medicine residency is housed at Church Health in partnership with the Baptist Memorial Health Care Family Medicine Program. The three-year training program attracts young physicians who want to serve the underserved, understand spiritual well-being, and care for patients through prevention and a whole-person approach. The desire to learn in this environment is stunning: the most recent class of residents was selected from an applicant pool of 1,800.
Community Impact
In addition, Church Health runs Perea Pre-School in a neighborhood north of Crosstown Concourse and the organization will open an elementary school in 2018. A charter high school will open this fall in the Crosstown Concourse. Following these openings, the teachers and young doctors will work in concert to care for families from birth through high school graduation.
Crosstown Concourse is the sixth former Sears distribution center to have been fully renovated, following successful efforts in Seattle, Minneapolis, Dallas, Boston, and Atlanta. The Memphis endeavor, however, was directly inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s notion of creating “a beloved community” by working collaboratively to serve the city.
As a result, the culmination of the events commemorating Dr. King’s life and legacy and marking fifty years since his assassination will take place at Crosstown Concourse the evening of April 4th. While this will be a night to remember Dr. King, it will present an opportunity for Memphis to look around and see what is possible when a community has faith, shares vision, persists, and comes together in efforts to follow his dream.
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]]>One of the many areas affected by institutional racism was education, and we still see the consequences in our school systems across the country today through segregated schools and barriers to education. The aftermath of school segregation has been linked as a cause of an educational gap. Now, Memphis is driving innovation through a variety of non-profits and initiatives that work to close this gap and make quality education a reality for all students.
Fast Facts
- The city of Memphis has presented a plan to potentially pump $6,000,000 into Shelby County pre-kindergarten programs, using funds from property tax revenue without further affecting taxpayers. If approved by the city council, this effort would work towards increasing the accessibility of pre-k for an estimated 1,500 more students.
- Tennessee is also allocating $30 million this year to promote summer-reading programs across the state, which also aims to increase literacy proficiency in young students. Memphis students will directly benefit from the summer reading and pre-k program funding.
- Along with increasing this budget, by 2022 Memphis is planning to raise the full-time hourly wage for school employees to $15 an hour. These policy changes will help schools provide a more stable foundation for children entering pre-k and for the staff and employees of the schools.
- In a recent report by the University of Memphis, researchers write, “It is important to note that greater levels of education appear to be associated with lower poverty rates particularly among the overall population. It is interesting to note that greater high school completion seems to have a dramatic impact on African American poverty rates.”
Memphis is home to countless educational innovators, with over 4,000 charitable organizations dedicated to ending poverty by promoting educational success for underprivileged students.
“The function of education is to teach one to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of education.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Innovators
The local organization, CodeCrew provides tech literacy for children around the city, furthering diversity within technological fields. CodeCrew strives to ensure that through developmental learning, students have access to technological education on digital systems and software. This education is essential to prepare students for higher academic careers and making sure they are well equipped with modern skills for high paying, high demand jobs (coding, software developers,etc.). CodeCrew holds several after-school programs, summer camps, three in-school elective programs, and special events throughout the year.
Along with CodeCrew, LITE Memphis works in Shelby County Schools to promote the furthering of education. Their vision is for African American and Latinx students to close the racial wealth gap by becoming entrepreneurs and securing high-wage jobs. LITE Memphis begins their program by taking students into a 6-month entrepreneurship program to develop ideas, places students into paid internships, and then helps students inculcate financial success in their communities through entrepreneurship. The organization’s statistics show 2,000 youths empowered through entrepreneurship, $112,000 invested in small business growth, and that over 90% of students have launched entrepreneurial projects since 2014.
Organizations in Memphis like CodeCrew and LITE Memphis are dedicated to disrupting the achievement gap through innovative, modern approaches. Other non-profits working to close the achievement gap in Memphis include The Memphis Lift, Memphis Education Fund, New Leaders for New Schools, Stand for Children, and many more. It is easy to lose hope and become discouraged when staring at the hard truth of injustice, but the soul Memphis and the vision of Dr. King will never be lost, forever paving a path of light across our world.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of dedicated individuals.” Memphis is filled to the brim with persistent and dedicated individuals – and we thank them for their work as keepers of Dr. King’s dream.
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]]>Where do we go from here?
The MLK50 symposium, ” Where do we go from here?” is part of a full slate of events happening this spring to mark the occasion of Dr. King’s assassination at the Lorraine Hotel on April 4, 1968. The Lorraine Hotel is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum.
The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the National Civil Rights Museum will host the symposium at the Peabody Hotel, two days before the 50th anniversary of his death. The event will bring together nationally renowned scholars, historians, thought leaders and other veterans of the movement’s front lines to discuss how far we’ve come since that fateful April day, and where the future of the civil rights movement is headed as we continue the fight for equality and justice.
Scheduled to appear
Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder will be the keynote speaker at the symposium. Holder served as the United States Attorney General from 2009 to 2015, before becoming a partner at Covington and Burling. He’ll be joined by other important voices on the topic of the legal accomplishments, hurdles, and challenges that the movement faces as they relate to Dr. King’s enduring vision. Holder will be joined by a number of other panelists, including:
- Mark Osler
- Toussaint Losier
- Roy Austin
- Tracey Maclin
- Dayne Matthew
- Debo Adegbile
- Rick Hasen
- Pamala Karlan
- Sherrilyn Ifill
- Dorothy Brown
- Tomiko Brown-Nagin
- Dorothy Roberts
- Claude Steele
- Beverly Tatum
- Charles McKinney
- Cornell Brooks
Symposium Details
Panels will include Criminal Justice, Voting Rights, Confronting Persistent Poverty and 21st Century Activism. Topics covered will include housing, education, voting rights, equal opportunity employment and the criminal justice system, and how they affect the rights we still fight for.
Registration and check-in will start at 8am on April 2, followed by opening remarks at 8:45am. The day will wrap up by 5pm with concluding remarks. The panel sessions of the symposium will be held in the Continental Ballroom of the Peabody Hotel, while the keynote luncheon will be held in the Grand Ballroom.
You can find a full schedule of events for the MLK50 remembrance on the events page of the MLK50 website.
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]]>A good long walk
Participants in the 50 Mile March to Memphis will be walking to raise awareness and build a new sense of community along the way. Much like the black sanitation workers in 1968, these young men will walk with a higher sense of purpose.
The PEARSON Foundation is organizing the walkers, an interracial group of boys aged 14 to 19. PEARSON, which stands for People Employing Available Resources to Strengthen Our Neighborhood, takes part in faith-based mentoring and community service rooted in a desire to teach participants about civil rights, justice and healthy race relations.
Building a community
Along the route, the group will be lodging at schools and churches, taking part in community meetings while in host cities to ensure they share and learn along the way.
The group will arrive in Memphis on April 4 to join a much larger march in commemoration of 50 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which will end at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel—the site of Dr. King’s assassination.
Drawing inspiration from those who have come before
As with the black sanitation workers in 1968, the theme of “I am a Man” will be prominent among participants in the 50 Mile March to Memphis, and issues of adulthood and manhood will be topics of discussion. The group will receive a police escort along the entire route, and will not be walking in protest, but instead to honor Dr. King and express hope for the future.
The PEARSON Foundation is based in Pearl, Mississippi, and the group of boys participating will be composed of members of PEARSON’s educational programs as well as their peers from local schools. The group has its own Facebook page, and will be tracking its progress each day so families and friends can stay updated.
With historical events as a backdrop, the 50 Mile March to Memphis will look at what Dr. King stood for 50 years ago and examine how those ideals can be applied today.
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