MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis and New Orleans are two cities that share quite a bit of history, and some of that history took on special significance recently as News with a Twist host LBJ was able to tour the National Civil Rights Museum with his 10-year-old son, Legend.
This year marks 49 years since Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated outside his hotel room at the Lorraine Hotel. As part of WGNO-News with a Twist’s yearlong commemoration of the life of Dr. King, we are reflecting on the past, evaluating the present – and seeking solutions for the future with stories that highlight local Civil Rights history and more.
While the fight for Civil Rights started with slavery, the foray into telling the story to LBJ’s son started on “the bus” — a replica of the bus that Rosa Parks rode the day she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. Legend, of course, had questions.
“What if they had too many black people and no white people?” LBJ’s son asked him.
“Everybody sits in the back or stands up,” he told him.
Legend had one word to describe the scenario: brutal.
It’s a story that’s tough to hear, but the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel includes many moving experiences to better tell that story.
LBJ took his son to a replica lunch counter at the museum, where Legend would not have been able to order a ham sandwich if he were hungry in the 1950s and ’60s.
Among the stories of struggle and sadness are stories of courage — and LBJ got to share some of those stories of courageous Civil Rights leaders from New Orleans, including Julia “Mama Julia” Aaron Humbles, Dave Dennis, and Jerome Smith.
Although the museum tells the broader story of the Civil Rights movement better than anywhere else in the world, visitors can’t forget one fact that stands out most: it’s the site of Dr. King’s assassination, the last spot that Dr. King stood, and it’s undoubtedly a moving experience.