When the first Holiday Inn opened in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, it broke the mold.

It redefined what a hotel could be – what it should be: a high-quality place, with amenities and perks travelers at the time struggled to find (no extra charge for young kids!), but all at a price point attainable for the average family.

But the brand was also, in many ways, a gateway to progress in business, society, and travel. It was one of the first hotel brands to franchise, the first to market a loyalty program, and the first major brand that offered franchise opportunities for Black Americans, including the first wholly Black-owned franchise hotel in Tuskegee, Alabama. When that property opened in the 1970s – Holiday Inn's Community Relations Manager at the time was there to capture the big moment. His name is Mark Stansbury Sr., and his life and legacy are as groundbreaking as the hotel brand he worked for, for more than a decade.

At 79 years young, Stansbury still works and lives in Memphis and just published a book, Through the Lens of Mark Stansbury^*, about his expansive and pioneering career capturing – and making – history.

Stansbury’s career began in 1958. The following year, a newfound passion for photography would send him on a journey that crossed paths with civil rights leaders, presidents, and politicians and an extended stay at a growing Memphis-based hotel company – Holiday Inn.

"I was 18-years-old when I started working weekends at WDIA-AM 1070 in Memphis, Tennessee," says Stansbury. WDIA was the first station in the country to carry all-black programming, and more than 60 years later – Stansbury still hosts a Sunday gospel show at the station.

In 1959, the station sent him to a journalism conference in Lincoln, Missouri, where he picked up a 4-by-5 camera and fell in love with photography.

"When I was little, no one was taking pictures," says Stansbury. He was born in 1942 and grew up in segregated America. "Black people didn't have cameras then, so this was my first time being around cameras and using one." When he could no longer afford to attend a journalism institution, the college student wrote to Ernest Withers, one of the only prominent black photographers of the time, and asked if he could be his apprentice. Withers accepted.

It was a mentorship that changed Stansbury's life as he watched the civil rights movement unfolding before his eyes and behind his camera lens.

"A man named James Meredith was the first black person to attend the University of Mississippi. He was shot during a civil rights march in Hernando [Mississippi], and Dr. [Martin Luther] King went down a week or so after to continue that march to Jackson, and I was there taking pictures," says Stansbury. "During that time, I was so passionate about photography, and I would just go anywhere – I even had a police scanner in my car."

Stansbury also recalls photographing some of the biggest names of that time.

"Muhammad Ali, The Jacksons, the Beatles when they came to Memphis, I remember I was only one of two photographers allowed in the dressing room," he says. Stansbury has photographed five sitting U.S. Presidents in his career – Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and then President Barack Obama when he was a senator. Stansbury says Obama was especially poignant because he never thought he would see a Black president in his lifetime.

But it was the photograph he took on April 5, 1968, that will stay with him forever.

The evening before, Stansbury watched the news in horror as he heard the report on the killing of Dr. King.

"The next day, my wife was planning to throw me a birthday party, but I asked her if it could wait. I drove to The Lorraine Motel, and there were no police tapes or barriers. So, I walked across the street and into the building and room where James Earl Ray was standing when he shot Dr. King," says Stansbury. "I took a photo from that vantage point – of the balcony where Dr. King was standing when the bullet hit him."

Stansbury says he is thankful for having the chance to record history – even something as painful as the death of Dr. King.

In 1969, Mark Stansbury had a chance to try something different. He accepted a job as a Community Relations Manager for Holiday Inn. Several years later he would make a history when was elected President of the Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

"I was one of the first minorities hired by the company [Holiday Inn] that wasn't pushing a broom or a mop,” Stansbury recalls. A grim reality but one that didn’t affect Stansbury’s feelings about the company and culture.

“I have real fond memories of working there," says Stansbury. "I did not have anybody call me the N-word – which was a unique experience for that period, and I give a lot of credit to Mr. Kemmons Wilson.”Stansbury says he often interacted with the late founder of Holiday Inn.

"Mr. Wilson was not a racist, to put it bluntly. He was a good man, and water flows from the head, so the old saying goes, so that's why I was treated well at the company." One of Stansbury's cherished memories of Wilson was around the time Stansbury and his wife had their first child.

"Mr. Wilson and his wife came over to the house and brought a silver platter as a gift. It was something he really didn't have to do, but he did because that is the kind of man he was."

Stansbury also recalls Wilson wanting to prevent discrimination at the company – even recruiting Stansbury's help.

"One time, a Black organization had a big convention at the Holiday Inn in Gary, Indiana. This was in the 70s, and they sent me as a representative from the company to make sure hotel management was treating guests and attendees with respect," Stansbury says. "But all the guests were treated well and there were no problems.”

Stansbury's reputation and talent as a photographer also came in handy.

"I have a funny story, I remember when President Nixon came to a Holiday Inn, and I shot a photo of Mr. Wilson looking inside the President's limo. I got a note from Mr. Wilson saying, 'Thanks for your thoughtfulness in sending me the pictures when I was peeping into the President's limousine.”

In listening to Stansbury’s stories about Wilson and Holiday Inn – it comes as little surprise to those who knew Kemmons Wilson best.

"It fills me, and my family, with warmth and pride to hear Mr. Stansbury’s memories of my father and the business he built. It also rings true of the man we knew and loved,” says Spence Wilson, Sr., Kemmons Wilson’s son and Chairman of the Board for Kemmons Wilson Companies. “Our father believed in people, he believed in genuine relationships and doing the right thing. He truly was the ‘Nation’s Inn Keeper’ – welcoming towards everyone.”

Today, Holiday Inn is a part of the IHG Hotel & Resorts family, with more than 1,200 Holiday Inn properties around the world.

Stansbury keeps letters and notes of praise he received while working at Holiday Inn, looking back on his career with both pragmatism and pride. His book covers the years he worked at Holiday Inn with personal stories and photos.

"Holiday Inn was one of the biggest employers in Memphis, and I feel fortunate about my experience there, I very much enjoyed working for Kemmons Wilson.”

While Stansbury has shared stories about his life many times over the years, this is the first time it will all be documented, and he confesses that it’s been a long, hard road to get here.

“I’ve had so much encouragement from people in my life, people I grew up with, and some I don’t even know,” says Stansbury. “I just want to share what I’ve learned along the way with others.”

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