Crowds packed the National Civil Rights Museum courtyard near the balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed 50 years ago.
Overflowing onto South Main and surrounding streets, thousands of people listened to words of reflection and encouragement from civil rights leaders, elected officials, and faith leaders.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Shelby County Mayor Mark Lutrell, Rep. Steve Cohen, Gov. Bill Haslam, president of the museum Terri Freeman, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bill Lucy, and Rev. William Barber II were among the speakers.
Throughout the day, members of the crowd smiled, laughed, danced, cheered, and chanted. Moments of both sadness and joy rippled through the crowd.
Then at 6:01 p.m., the time King was shot, the crowd went silent as a wreath was hung from the balcony of room 306. Simultaneously, bells around the country echoed the one in the museum courtyard, which rang 39 times, once for each year of King’s life.
See photos from the day below.
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