MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Several members of Congress are opening a three-day tour of sites connected to the civil rights era, starting with a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Tennessee.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen are among lawmakers set to make Friday’s tour for the “Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage.”
The group will start the day at Mason Temple, where both lawmakers are scheduled to speak.
They will then make their way to the National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel for a wreath laying outside Room 306. It’s the location where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.
The group is being led by U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and a key figure in the civil rights movement. Lawmakers will be joined by dozens of students and clergy.
They also plan to visit Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, three cities with ties to King.