2008 Woodie Awards
Students go walking in Memphis
Cultural day trip included visits to Elvis' estate, Stax Recording Co. and Civil Rights Museum
By: Shawn Dooley
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: LifeStyle
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Students took a one-day journey through the cultural history of the birthplace of rock 'n' roll via museums and a tour of Memphis, Tenn.
"I didn't know much about Memphis," said sophomore Jessica Williams, a math and dance double major. "I was very surprised by the history of Memphis and how the city highlighted its history."
The Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs sponsored the Nov. 4 Cultural Day Trip to Memphis. Forty-three students boarded a coach bus at 5 a.m. and returned around midnight. The trip was open to all students.
There were five stops on the tour, including Stax Recording Co., Slave Haven, and W.C. Handy House on Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum and Graceland. Graceland was a 15-minute stop, reserved for students to take pictures.
The first stop on the excursion was a tour of Stax Recording Co. on McElmore Avenue. Stax was the 1960s recording home to artists like Isaac Hayes, the Mar-Keys and Otis Redding. Stax now houses the Museum of American Soul Music.
The second tour was of the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. The museum is the 1849 Burkle Estate, which was a haven in the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves.
The house, still in its original state, showed how the Burkle family housed runaway slaves. The house has tunnels, which slaves used to enter the cellar of the house, and a trap door from the tunnel onto the main floor. The house was used as a safe haven between the North and South.
"I was really surprised about the small tunnels and how slaves squeezed through them," said junior Shayna Robinson, an advertising and marketing major. "I thought the house was well preserved for the age and what it had endured through the years."
The historical tour continued to Beale Street, which has more than 25 specialty eateries and shops, including B.B. King's Blues Club, Club 152 and Blues City Cafe.
The final tour was at the Lorraine Motel, home of the Civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Motel is known as the location of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. The motel closed in 1982, and the Civil Rights Museum was built shortly after. Most of the original Lorraine Motel was cleared, but some of it was preserved. The museum is a journey through the lengthy history of civil rights struggles from the early 1800s to King's death in 1968, along with current civil rights issues.
"I didn't know much about Memphis," said sophomore Jessica Williams, a math and dance double major. "I was very surprised by the history of Memphis and how the city highlighted its history."
The Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs sponsored the Nov. 4 Cultural Day Trip to Memphis. Forty-three students boarded a coach bus at 5 a.m. and returned around midnight. The trip was open to all students.
There were five stops on the tour, including Stax Recording Co., Slave Haven, and W.C. Handy House on Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum and Graceland. Graceland was a 15-minute stop, reserved for students to take pictures.
The first stop on the excursion was a tour of Stax Recording Co. on McElmore Avenue. Stax was the 1960s recording home to artists like Isaac Hayes, the Mar-Keys and Otis Redding. Stax now houses the Museum of American Soul Music.
The second tour was of the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. The museum is the 1849 Burkle Estate, which was a haven in the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves.
The house, still in its original state, showed how the Burkle family housed runaway slaves. The house has tunnels, which slaves used to enter the cellar of the house, and a trap door from the tunnel onto the main floor. The house was used as a safe haven between the North and South.
"I was really surprised about the small tunnels and how slaves squeezed through them," said junior Shayna Robinson, an advertising and marketing major. "I thought the house was well preserved for the age and what it had endured through the years."
The historical tour continued to Beale Street, which has more than 25 specialty eateries and shops, including B.B. King's Blues Club, Club 152 and Blues City Cafe.
The final tour was at the Lorraine Motel, home of the Civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Motel is known as the location of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. The motel closed in 1982, and the Civil Rights Museum was built shortly after. Most of the original Lorraine Motel was cleared, but some of it was preserved. The museum is a journey through the lengthy history of civil rights struggles from the early 1800s to King's death in 1968, along with current civil rights issues.
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