The hearse that carried Martin Luther King Jr. to his final resting place is now on display in Baton Rouge as part of the Carrying on the Dream exhibit at Capitol Park Museum and will be on display for the next year. Raising Cane’s founder and CEO Todd Graves recently acquired the 1966 Cadillac 616 Superior Coach.
“This is too important of an artifact for the United States to be sitting in storage. It needs to be in a museum. And so for me, it’s something that doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to the people. It needs to be out. People need to see,” said Graves.
Graves said he plans to display the historic vehicle in other cities following its time in Baton Rouge. The exhibit will also feature many pieces and photos from King’s era. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says it’s great to have an important piece of history on display in Baton Rouge as Louisiana gets ready to put together a civil rights trail along with other southern states.
“To take this hearse and put it on display is a great attraction for our local museum at a great time. It’s really perfect timing,” said Nungesser.
Graves said the hearse is a sobering reminder of what King did to change the world.
“We’ve come along way since his time, but we still have so far to go and I think when you see this man gave his life for something so important, that we can all do our part to make things better in our country,” said Graves.
