D'Army Bailey, who is best known for his crusade to save and turn the old Lorraine Hotel in Memphis into the National Civil Rights Museum died on Sunday. His wife, Adrienne Bailey, announced the news at the Methodist Hospital where the civil rights champion was treated for a long illness. He was 73-years-old.
Bailey was at the forefront of the fight to preserve the crumbling Lorraine Hotel in 1991. He was first to recognize and fight for its significance for the American people since it was the location where Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down in April 4, 1968. The Civil Rights leader was staying in Memphis to support the cause of the striking labor workers who were calling for an increase in wages and changes to unsafe working conditions. Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton said that "he wanted people to feel not just remember," and "he wanted you to get goose bumps and have the museum bring tears to your eyes," according to Western Mass News. Bailey worked hard to bring together donors and raise money to buy the hotel. After its successful acquisition in 1991, it underwent intensive renovation until it was home to the National Civil Rights Museum.
Aside from being a civil rights activist, Bailey was also a judge when he was elected in 1990 to a Circuit Court judgeship in Memphis. He was nominated to fill a vacancy in the Tennessee Supreme Court twice, CNN reported. Bailey earned his law degree from Yale in 1967 and had practiced civil rights law until he served in the city council of Berkeley, Calif. "Our community was made better by his years of service, his stunning intellect and a deep appreciation for the rule of law," said Former U.S. Representative Harold Ford. Sr., in a statement released to KCBD. Messages of condolences have also started flooding Bailey's Facebook page.
Bailey also acted in several films, which include "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt." He was also an author and has published two books,"The Education of a Black Radical: Southern Civil Rights Activist's Journey" and "Mine Eyes Have Seen: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Journey."
