On MLK Day, calls for new activism echoed around the National Civil Rights Museum

By , Daily Memphian Updated: January 19, 2026 6:44 PM CT | Published: January 19, 2026 4:47 PM CT

The holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. drew a large crowd at the Civil Rights Museum as one of the last living members of the city’s civil rights vanguard called out against “the silence of good people.”

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MLK Day National Civil Rights Museum Walter Bailey

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Bill Dries

Bill Dries

Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.


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