From Allie Drimer:

Today my fellow friends and I went to so many amazing places. We started at Graceland, the mansion Elvis bought when he made it big. It is equipped with platinum records, fun beds and the Jungle Room! These past 2 days in Memphis made me gain even more respect for “The King” who started a revolution named rock and roll. I love Elvis and was a huge fan before we came to Memphis and am an even bigger one now.

We then went to the National Civil Rights Museum located in the historic Lorraine Motel. This is the site where Dr. King was shot and killed in 1968. The museum traces the history of the Civil Rights movement all the way from slavery to modern times. It included a section on the Central High School of Little Rock which we would see live in person later that day. We were also able to see where Dr. King was standing when he was assassinated.

After the museum we spoke with Jacquelyn Smith who has been protesting the Civil Rights museum since the day it opened over 18 years ago. When the city of Memphis decided to spend over ten million dollars to turn the hotel into a museum, it displaced many poor people who were living in the hotel. She thinks a better way to spend the money as a legacy to Dr. King would be to spend it on helping the disadvantaged. Not many of us agreed with her but most admired her convictions.

Then we drove two hours to Little Rock where we sat in front of the famous Central High School which was at the center of the desegregation controversy. We spoke about how our government handles states rights vs. federal rights. This was one of the basic issues argued when the school was being integrated. We also spoke about how the diverse populations in our own schools interact.

After the intenseness of the discussions we went swimming at the hotel and then went downtown to see the actual Little Rock.

All in all, I had an amazing day and I know a lot of other people did too. Everything we have done so far has been so inspiring and interesting. I am so glad I got to experience, and learn, new things.