10 stops in Tennessee included in US Civil Rights Trail

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Haslam made a special announcement Wednesday in Memphis at one of the 10 sites in the state now included in the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

“They help us remember the people that came before us and the significant events that happened and the courage that was shown,” Gov. Haslam said.

Churches, schools and museums are just a few examples announced Wednesday as stops on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in Tennessee. There will be 100 sites in 14 states.

“There’s no more essential part of United States history than understanding our struggle with race,” Sen. Lamar Alexander said.

Sen. Alexander says the worst grades Tennessee high school students have are in U.S. history. He hopes these sites will help change that.

Of those 100 sites, 10 of them are in Tennessee. One of them is the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.

Kevin Triplett, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourism, says Tennessee’s history is a big reason why so many people come and visit the state. He says these stops will help share how we got to where we are today.

“We not only can tell these stories, these wonderful stories, these important stories, but people can walk in the footsteps of people who toiled for what seems to be such a simple request of equality,” Triplett said.

Gov. Haslam says he hopes this can help Tennesseans remember our past and help push us toward the future.