The Lorraine Motel in Memphis is the site of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Now part of a 4 acre complex of buildings that make up the National Civil Rights Museum, the motel is connected by underground tunnel to the Young and Morrow Buildings, where James Earl Ray initially confessed (and later recanted) to shooting King. Another component includes Canipe’s Amusement Store, which is next door to the rooming house where the alleged murder weapon, with Ray’s fingerprints, was found. The museum traces the history of the Civil Rights Movement from the 17th century to the present. Interesting to note that the motel’s owner’s wife suffered a stroke hours after King’s assassination, and died five days later.
National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee
