Members of Congress lay wreath at site of King assassination

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - About a dozen members of Congress have laid a wreath and held a prayer service at the site where the Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Tennessee.

They opened a three-day "Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage" with a Friday visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander and Democratic U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen of Memphis and John Lewis of Atlanta spoke to reporters.

The museum is at the site of the old Lorraine Motel where King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.

The group is being led by Lewis, who played a key role in the civil rights movement. Lawmakers are being joined by dozens of students and clergy.

They also plan to visit Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, three cities with ties to King.