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- A gray cat slinks past a wooden house. There’s something a little intimidating attempting to describe.
MLK
The Lorraine Motel is located at 450 Mulberry Street in the heart of Memphis, and has been there since the mid-1920s.
Formerly known as Windsor Hotel and later Marquette, it was a “white people only” establishment, until 1945 Walter and Loree Bailey bought it and expanded it by turning it into a Motor Hotel changing the name into Lorraine Motel (in honor of Loree and the song “Sweet Lorraine”) making it a safe haven for black travelers and guests. From that moment on, it was featured in the “The Negro Motorist Green Book”, also known as the Green Guide, which listed all the ”afro-american firendly” hotels, restaurants and shops.
Due to its proximity to Beale Street, musicians like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were all motel regular guests every time they had to stop in Memphis. Just to say: “Knock on Wood” and “In the Midnight Hour” were written in the motel rooms. But the most famous and beloved guest was definitely Martin Luther King who stayed at the Lorraine Motel every time he was visiting the city.
On April 4th, 1968, while MLK was in Memphis to support a strike, he went out on the balcony of room 306 to talk to some friends in the parking lot below. Turning his shoulders to go back into the room was reached by a bullet that took his life instantly.
After the tragic event and despite the death of his wife Loree 5 days after the Rev. King’s assassination, Bailey continued to run the motel, the room 306 was no longer rented and it was turned into a memorial. Bailey died in 1988 without having the chance to see that nowadays The Lorraine Motel is the home of the National Civil Rights Museum and is still there on Mulberry Street, equal to then as if it was suspended over time.
A ’68 Cadillac and a ’59 Dodge are parked in front of the motel and a white and red wreath is clearly visible hanging from the balcony in front of the room 306 to recall the position where MLK was at the time of the murder. Standing in front of the Motel it’s really intense and it’s like being carried back at those times.
MLK
Il Motel Lorraine, si trova al 450 di Mulberry Street, in pieno centro a Memphis, ed è lì dalla metà degli anni ’20.
Conosciuto prima come Windsor Hotel e successivamente Marquette, era un albergo per soli bianchi, fino a quando nel 1945 venne rilevato da Walter e Loree Bailey che lo ampliarono trasformandolo in un Motor Hotel, cambiarono il nome in Lorraine Motel (in onore di Loree e della canzone Sweet Lorraine) e lo fecero diventare un rifugio sicuro per ospiti e viaggiatori di colore di passaggio a Memphis. Da quel momento infatti venne anche segnalato dalla guida ”The Negro Motorist Green Book”, nota anche come Green Guide, un elenco di alberghi, ristoranti e esercizi commerciali “afro-american firendly”.
Data la relativa vicinanza a Beale Street, musicisti del calibro di Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong e Nat King Cole sono stati tutti ospiti del motel ogni volta che si dovevano fermare a Memphis. “Knock on Wood” e “In the Midnight Hour” furono scritte nelle stanze del motel tanto per dirne una. Ma l’ospite più famoso e amato era sicuramente Martin Luther King che soggiornava al Motel Lorraine tutte le volte che era in visita alla città.
Il 4 aprile del 1968, mentre MLK si trovava a Memphis per sostenere uno sciopero uscì sul balcone della stanza 306 per parlare con alcuni amici nel parcheggio sottostante. Voltando le spalle per rientrare nella stanza fu raggiunto da un proiettile e morì sul colpo. Dopo il tragico evento, Bailey continuò a gestire il motel, nonostante la morte della moglie Loree 5 giorni dopo l’asassinio del reverendo King. La stanza 306 non venne più affittata e venne trasformata in un memoriale.
Bailey morì nel 1988 senza fare in tempo a vedere che oggi il Motel Lorraine è la sede del National Civil Rights Museum ed è ancora lì su Mulberry street, uguale ad allora come se fosse sospeso nel tempo. Una Cadillac del ’68 e una Dodge del ’59 sono parcheggiate di fronte al motel e una ghirlanda bianca e rossa è ben visibile appesa al balcone di fronte alla stanza 306 a ricordare la posizione in cui MLK si trovava al momento dell’omicidio e stare di fronte al Motel fa provare emozioni molto intense, è come essere trasportati indietro nel tempo di 50 anni.
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