The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historical buildings. All its exhibits tell about the civil rights movement in the United States. African-Americans were fighting against the legalized racial discrimination and lack of rights. It started in the 17th century.

A bright representative of this movement was Martin Luther King. He urged people to fight for equality but use only peaceful ways. On March 28, 1968, he led a protest march in Memphis downtown. It aimed to support striking workers.

On April 3, Martin Luther King gave a speech to citizens. He was saying: We’ve got some difficult days ahead, But it doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”  On April 4, Martin Luther King was fatally wounded by a sniper when he was standing on the balcony in his hotel. Today, this hotel is a museum. It was built for African Americans. The owner rented rooms at low prices for Memphis. It is not surprising that Martin Luther King settled there because the hotel has become a symbol of the fight for African Americans’ rights. 

The main exhibit of the museum is a room where the famous American writer lived. The owners left furniture and other items in their places. A bed with a coverlet, a bedside table, a dial telephone… it seems that Martin is about to come here and say something about the equality for all groups of the American population regardless of their skin color…

The museum has a large number of documents, framed newspaper articles about marches and protests. But the most interesting exhibits are figures of black residents of Memphis, made of metal in full growth. Their faces express pain and despair because they are tired of the endless struggle…