Monday 26th January 2015
Well, this was a day for all the senses. First we went to Graceland. It is situated about 8 miles outside Memphis. We parked across the road in a large lot which was more or less empty. This is a good time of year to travel as there are not too many people about.
There are a number of tours which cover the house, the airplanes, the archive studio, the cars, etc. We opted for the mansion only. Before boarding the shuttle bus which takes you across the raod to the house, you are given an I-pad and headphones. The headphones give you an audio tour and the I-pad a visual tour which gives expanded detail of the interior of the house with 3-D views of the rooms. The sound track also plays his songs and some audio from interviews. OK, I will be honest, I was expecting a tacky, tasteless place but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is quite modest as a house with no real over the top things. On entering, there is a living room on the right and a dining room on the left. Then you can go through to the large kitchen and to a sort of den at the back. Downstairs in the basement is another sort of den area with a pool table and some TV’s. Then back up to the ‘ jungle room’ which is covered on both the floor and ceiling with carpet. These rooms are floridly furnished but not overly so. They might not be to my taste but they are not bad at all. Across the courtyard is his father Vernon’s office and a small garage which he used as a shooting range for a short while. There are paddocks out back with horses as Elvis was a keen rider. Then it was into the trophy area where you are assailed by literally dozens and dozens of gold records. Elvis sold millions of records, still does. His outfits, tributes he has received, posters and much other memorabilia line the walls and are in cabinets and showcases. This is a remarkable area and just shows what an extraordinary entertainer he was. There are also relics of his military service. Then it was on to his racquetball court area where there are yet more mementoes of his amazing career. He did of course also make a lot of movies, appeared on TV, made many, many tours and special stage performances. He was also a very generous person and gave a lot to charity or performed for charitable causes raising a lot of money for many causes and helping many individuals.
We decided to skip the tours of the archive studio and the airplanes. I was impressed by the relative modesty of the mansion. As we left the interior we passed through the Meditation Area where the graves of Elvis, his mother, father and grandmother lie. There is also a memorial for his still born twin. Ellis was originally buried with his mother in a Memphis cemetery but was moved to Graceland later at his father’s instigation to have all of them together at the place that Elvis cared for so much. All in all, it was quite a moving experience. Elvis was very young when he died and would have been 80 years old this January, had he lived. Without doubt he is a colossus among the pop music world and like his music or not, one cannot dispute he had an incredible effect on the music world. One of his televised concerts was seen by a billion people all over the world, more than witnessed the first landing on the moon.
From Graceland, we went to Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. Not exactly health food but really good spicy, juicy, crispy fried chicken. The jury is out as to its place on the panoply of best fried chicken but we will keep testing to get the order right!!! Hey! Someone has to do it.
From Gus’s, we went to the National Museum of Civil Rights. This is housed in the Lorraine Motel, this is the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The motel closed sometime after the death of MLK and was rescued from demolition to form the National Civil Rights Museum. I can tell you this museum is an assault on the emotions and senses. It is laid out in a very effective, articulate and powerful way. It traces the history of civil rights for the early 17th century until the present day. It starts, of course with the slave trade, the hope and optimism which arose from the establishment of the United States with its Constitution and Bill of Rights which, sadly did not include the slaves or blacks. It traces the horror of slavery, the new burst of optimism which followed the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War only for this to be dashed again by the ‘Jim Crow’ laws which thwarted the intentions of the Federal Government by the actions of, especially Southern States, to ensure that segregation was maintained. The various Supreme Court decisions such as Plessey v Ferguson and Dred Scott which perpetuated the system and ensured that the black population suffered from poor housing, education and every kind of social need. As the 20th century progressed the civil rights movement gained traction but at awful cost in life, injury and property. The riots, the freedom rides, the marches, the protests, the sit-ins and more started to turn the tide towards the change so needed. James Meredith entering Ole Miss, the desegregation of the schools at Little Rock, Rosa Parks and others who sat in the white section of the bus or sat in the diners or fountains causing the effect of drawing attention to the issues. There is a Montgomery bus with a diorama of Rosa Parks and the driver telling her to get out of the seat and let a white sit down. There are a number of physical exhibits which have a strong impact.
The huge impact of Thurgood Marshall and the LDF who managed to win Brown v Board of Education and the Amendments to the Constitution which gave so relief but which were fought and defied by some States and had to be re-fought in the Supreme Court and States courts. There were so many characters who fought these fights, many names are not familiar some are iconic. All played their parts.
The context of MLK’s visit to Memphis on the fateful April day was his support for a strike of sanitation workers whose working conditions were appalling and some of whom were killed in the course of their work. The room which MLK occupied just before he was killed is on view.
Across the street, the building from which the shot is alleged to have come has exhibits surrounding the actual murder. The room occupied by James Earl Ray who is still the person who was convicted of carrying out the murder, is on show and the window from which the shot is supposed to have come gives a view of the balcony upon which MLK stood when he was murdered. Much of the physical evidence in the case against James Earl Ray is on display including the rifle, the receipt for its purchase, various documents associated with travel by the Ray both before and after the assassination. He did flee to Europe after the murder and was apprehended in London and extradited back to Memphis.
James Earl Ray confessed to the murder but recanted three days later and went on trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to 99 years in jail.
However, there are many theories about what really happened and there were holes in the prosecution’s case which have given many people, including MLK’s family, believe that others were involved such as the Mafia, the FBI, the Memphis police and other people who have variously been implicated by witnesses both reliable and less so. The MLK family won't civil suit against a man called Jowry. Another person called Raul, mention by James Earl Ray was also under suspicion but never found. There is fairly compelling evidence that Jame Earl Ray was involved but it is not conclusive.
There have been a number of subsequent inquiries by Federal and local authorities, TV and investigative journalism which have raised doubts about the verdict.
What is not in doubt and cannot be gain said is the huge impact that MLK had on civil rights, and on American society. One only needs to stand and listen to his speeches or read his letter from Memphis jail to be emotionally bombarded at every turn. It is hard to keep back tears when you realize that just before his untimely death, he almost forecasted it in a speech, when he talked about the ‘promised land’ and how he might not see it but that he believed that ‘his people’ would live to see it.
This is a most impressive museum which should be required viewing for all Americans. It portrays po ssibly the central issue which affected society in this country certainly from
The time of ‘Reconstruction’. There are so many lesson here for which we can learn. There are acts which are shameful, there are acts which are heroic, there are acts which are daring and thee are acts which are courageous, many many qualities made up this story and the story is not over yet, there is still inequality amongst the races and if we haven't learned our lessons by now, the. We should know better.
I think that this was one of, if not the most, impressive and impactful museums I have ever visited. At the end, I felt that I had gone ’15 rounds with Mike Tyson’ such was the emotional effect.
I have posted photos and a little further comment on a separate post entitled 'The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel'.
We got back to the hotel in time to see the duck procession again although they are very difficult to photograph. The procession was accompanied by a spirited performance by an aged white haired lady on the piano in the lobby.
For dinner we walked to Beale Street which was eerily quiet. Not finding anywhere that wa playing music and most of the restaurant's being empty, we eventually had a light meal at Pig on Beale which was a BBQ joint. Then it was back and to bed.
Well, this was a day for all the senses. First we went to Graceland. It is situated about 8 miles outside Memphis. We parked across the road in a large lot which was more or less empty. This is a good time of year to travel as there are not too many people about.
There are a number of tours which cover the house, the airplanes, the archive studio, the cars, etc. We opted for the mansion only. Before boarding the shuttle bus which takes you across the raod to the house, you are given an I-pad and headphones. The headphones give you an audio tour and the I-pad a visual tour which gives expanded detail of the interior of the house with 3-D views of the rooms. The sound track also plays his songs and some audio from interviews. OK, I will be honest, I was expecting a tacky, tasteless place but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is quite modest as a house with no real over the top things. On entering, there is a living room on the right and a dining room on the left. Then you can go through to the large kitchen and to a sort of den at the back. Downstairs in the basement is another sort of den area with a pool table and some TV’s. Then back up to the ‘ jungle room’ which is covered on both the floor and ceiling with carpet. These rooms are floridly furnished but not overly so. They might not be to my taste but they are not bad at all. Across the courtyard is his father Vernon’s office and a small garage which he used as a shooting range for a short while. There are paddocks out back with horses as Elvis was a keen rider. Then it was into the trophy area where you are assailed by literally dozens and dozens of gold records. Elvis sold millions of records, still does. His outfits, tributes he has received, posters and much other memorabilia line the walls and are in cabinets and showcases. This is a remarkable area and just shows what an extraordinary entertainer he was. There are also relics of his military service. Then it was on to his racquetball court area where there are yet more mementoes of his amazing career. He did of course also make a lot of movies, appeared on TV, made many, many tours and special stage performances. He was also a very generous person and gave a lot to charity or performed for charitable causes raising a lot of money for many causes and helping many individuals.
We decided to skip the tours of the archive studio and the airplanes. I was impressed by the relative modesty of the mansion. As we left the interior we passed through the Meditation Area where the graves of Elvis, his mother, father and grandmother lie. There is also a memorial for his still born twin. Ellis was originally buried with his mother in a Memphis cemetery but was moved to Graceland later at his father’s instigation to have all of them together at the place that Elvis cared for so much. All in all, it was quite a moving experience. Elvis was very young when he died and would have been 80 years old this January, had he lived. Without doubt he is a colossus among the pop music world and like his music or not, one cannot dispute he had an incredible effect on the music world. One of his televised concerts was seen by a billion people all over the world, more than witnessed the first landing on the moon.
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| The house from the Visitor Center across the highway |
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| The Living Room with its piano |
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| The Dining Room |
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| One of the bedrooms, I think this was Elvis' mother's room |
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| The kitchen |
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| One of Elvis' knickknacks. |
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| The Billiard Room |
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| The Jungle Room |
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| Just some of the gold records |
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| Some of Elvis' outfits inclining his army uniform. |
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| The 'Contemplation Area' where Elvis and members of his family are buried |
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| The swimming pool...........Duh! |
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| The trophy hall where there are many memorabilia from Elvis' career. |
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| Gone but not forgotten |
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| The house |
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| One of Elvis' airplanes |
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| Gus's 'World Famous' Fried Chicken |
The huge impact of Thurgood Marshall and the LDF who managed to win Brown v Board of Education and the Amendments to the Constitution which gave so relief but which were fought and defied by some States and had to be re-fought in the Supreme Court and States courts. There were so many characters who fought these fights, many names are not familiar some are iconic. All played their parts.
The context of MLK’s visit to Memphis on the fateful April day was his support for a strike of sanitation workers whose working conditions were appalling and some of whom were killed in the course of their work. The room which MLK occupied just before he was killed is on view.
Across the street, the building from which the shot is alleged to have come has exhibits surrounding the actual murder. The room occupied by James Earl Ray who is still the person who was convicted of carrying out the murder, is on show and the window from which the shot is supposed to have come gives a view of the balcony upon which MLK stood when he was murdered. Much of the physical evidence in the case against James Earl Ray is on display including the rifle, the receipt for its purchase, various documents associated with travel by the Ray both before and after the assassination. He did flee to Europe after the murder and was apprehended in London and extradited back to Memphis.
James Earl Ray confessed to the murder but recanted three days later and went on trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to 99 years in jail.
However, there are many theories about what really happened and there were holes in the prosecution’s case which have given many people, including MLK’s family, believe that others were involved such as the Mafia, the FBI, the Memphis police and other people who have variously been implicated by witnesses both reliable and less so. The MLK family won't civil suit against a man called Jowry. Another person called Raul, mention by James Earl Ray was also under suspicion but never found. There is fairly compelling evidence that Jame Earl Ray was involved but it is not conclusive.
There have been a number of subsequent inquiries by Federal and local authorities, TV and investigative journalism which have raised doubts about the verdict.
What is not in doubt and cannot be gain said is the huge impact that MLK had on civil rights, and on American society. One only needs to stand and listen to his speeches or read his letter from Memphis jail to be emotionally bombarded at every turn. It is hard to keep back tears when you realize that just before his untimely death, he almost forecasted it in a speech, when he talked about the ‘promised land’ and how he might not see it but that he believed that ‘his people’ would live to see it.
This is a most impressive museum which should be required viewing for all Americans. It portrays po ssibly the central issue which affected society in this country certainly from
The time of ‘Reconstruction’. There are so many lesson here for which we can learn. There are acts which are shameful, there are acts which are heroic, there are acts which are daring and thee are acts which are courageous, many many qualities made up this story and the story is not over yet, there is still inequality amongst the races and if we haven't learned our lessons by now, the. We should know better.
I think that this was one of, if not the most, impressive and impactful museums I have ever visited. At the end, I felt that I had gone ’15 rounds with Mike Tyson’ such was the emotional effect.
I have posted photos and a little further comment on a separate post entitled 'The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel'.
We got back to the hotel in time to see the duck procession again although they are very difficult to photograph. The procession was accompanied by a spirited performance by an aged white haired lady on the piano in the lobby.
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| Here are the ducks again, heading for the elevator!! |
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| The pianist in the hotel lobby at the Peabody |
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| The ducks begin their evening migration |
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