Marion Junior High School

Ms. Smith's 9th grade Civics Classes attended The National Civil Rights Museum. The trip began at The Clayborn Temple where they visited the "The I AM A MAN PLAZA." This plaza was commissioned by the City of Memphis and the Plough Foundation through the UrbanArt Commission with assistance and leadership from the greater Memphis community. The group then proceeded to the Lorraine Motel to visit the site where MLK Jr. was assassinated. The students were given a private tour of the facility, and traveled their way through Civil Rights History. The students were emerged in the dark truth of our Nation's past, and were encouraged to be inspired to make a change in their communities. The history lesson did not stop there, next the students took a ride on the historic downtown trolley to The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange. Students were given several hands on learning experiences and saw how the process of manufacturing cotton has evolved. A trip downtown is not complete until you see the ducks at the historic Peabody Hotel. Even though the proximity to our school is so close, this unique learning atmosphere was a first for a majority of the students.