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Room 306

Room 306

The National Story of the Lorraine Motel

by Ben Kamin

Published by: Michigan State University Press

Imprint: Michigan State University Press

Publishing Date: 2012-03-15

200 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

Paperback
9781611860498
Published: March 2012

$24.95

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PDF
9781609173432
Published: March 2012

$24.95

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EPUB
9781628951097
Published: March 2012

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise
Awards

A tragic landmark in the civil rights movement, the Lorraine Motel in Memphis is best known for what occurred there on April 4, 1968. As he stood on the balcony of Room 306, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, ending a golden age of nonviolent resistance, and sparking riots in more than one hundred cities. Formerly a seedy, segregated motel, and prior to that a brothel, the motel quickly achieved the status of national shrine. The motel attracts a variety of pilgrims—white politicians seeking photo ops, aging civil rights leaders, New Age musicians, and visitors to its current incarnation, the National Civil Rights Museum. A moving and emotional account that comprises a panorama of voices, Room 306 is an important oral history unlike any other.

Contents

Introduction: The Motel at Mulberry and Main

Part 1: The History

1. The King-Abernathy Suite: Billy Kyles

2. Lawyer at the Lorraine: Lucius Burch

3. Lover at the Lorraine: Georgia Davis Powers

4. Mighty Reverend at the Lorraine: James Lawson

Part 2: The Transition

5. Breaking the Barriers: Maxine Smith

6. Saving the Lorraine, Losing the Mantle: Judge D’Army Bailey

7. Endowing the Lorraine: J. R. “Pitt” Hyde

8. The Lorraine Photographer: Ernest C. Withers

Part 3: The Rebirth

9. It’s a Magical Place: Julian Bond

10. Filming the Lorraine: Lillian Benson

11. Managing the Museum at the Lorraine: Beverly Robertson

12. Producing The Witness at the Lorraine: Margaret Hyde

13. Room 306 and Today’s Young Artists: Craig Alan Edwards and Katori Hall

14. They Got It Done: Clayborne Carson

Afterword: The Rain Are Fallin

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

RabbiBen Kamin is a nationally known clergyman, teacher, counselor, and author of eight books on human values, civil rights, and spirituality.

. . . an extremely personal view of the tragic, yet ultimately triumphant, account of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
—Clayborne Carson, Professor & Director, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute

With this unforgettable book, Ben Kamin again shows us why he is the singular narrator of the Memphis and civil rights saga. This is a story that has to be told, and only Kamin could have done it so patiently and faithfully.
—T. George Harris, former Bureau Chief of TIME-LIFE, past Senior Editor of LOOK, founding Editor of Psychology Today and Spirituality and Health

A great contribution to the literature on the subject.Kamin does a masterful job of using the oral history tradition to bring fresh context to one of America’s greatest tragic events. The reader will be enlightened, inspired, and motivated to continue the struggle for freedom and justice.
—Donald W. Murphy,former President and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

A worthy and well-timed project and a prime subject for an oral history.
—Hampton Sides, author of Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin

2013 IPPY/Independent Publisher Book Award, Silver Medal for Multicultural Adult Non-fiction

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Room 306

The National Story of the Lorraine Motel

Room 306

The National Story of the Lorraine Motel

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