52 Places to Go in 2026 list
New galleries honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
After a devastating arson attack last year at Clayborn Temple, the headquarters of the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike supported by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis is looking to 2026 as a cultural turning point. This spring, the National Civil Rights Museum will unveil a redesign of the Legacy Building, the former boardinghouse where Dr. King’s assassin lay in wait across from the Lorraine Motel. The space will feature five galleries that focus on poverty, education, housing, gender equity and nonviolence, along with exhibits related to the Poor People’s Campaign (Dr. King’s economic-inequality initiative), modern civil rights movements and new research into Dr. King’s assassination. In September, Hattiloo Theater, the only free-standing Black repertory theater in any of five surrounding states, celebrates its 20th anniversary. And in December, the Memphis Art Museum will open a new riverfront home with 23 galleries, a studio and rooftop sculpture garden.
— Shayla Martin