Feb 02 2010
Two New Tours Explore African American History in Memphis
National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tenn.
In honor of Black History Month, the Memphis CVB has put together two tours that highlight African American influence, culture and history in Memphis.
The first tour is a walking tour of Beale Street, which was the epicenter of African American business in Memphis and the street where the blues were born. The first blues song ever published, W.C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues” was written in 1909 at P.Wee’s Saloon (now the Hard Rock Cafe).
Stops on the Beale St. Walking tour include (but aren’t limited to) the W.C. Handy statue, Eel Etc. (the longest running African American business on Beale), the Handy House and Museum, the New Daisy Theatre, A. Schwab’s Dry Goods Store, and B.B. King’s Blues Club.
The longer driving tour starts in the parking lot of the National Civil Rights Museum and winds through some of Memphis’ most important musical and historical landmarks. The tour goes to Booker T. Washington High School (the alma mater of many prominent Memphis musicians), historically black Lemoyne-Owen College, the Soulsville neighborhood (home to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Royal Recording, and the former homes of Aretha Franklin and Memphis Slim).
The driving tour takes you past the Mason Temple (the site of Martin Luther King, Jr.s Mountaintop speech) and to Clayborn Temple, where the Sanitation Worker’s Strike began. The tour ends on Beale Street.
For more information on the tours and their stops, check out the guides.