Bono is in Memphis, Tennessee, to be honored by the National Civil Rights Museum with its 2004 Freedom Award.

Accompanied by his wife and daughters, Bono spent Monday morning at a public forum at Memphis’ historic Temple Deliverance Church, where an African group entertained, a local girls’ choir sang “Pride (In the Name of Love),” and he and Representative John Lewis (D-Ga), who will also be honored with a Freedom Award tonight, spoke about civil rights, AIDS, and poverty.

After the forum, Bono and his family toured the National Civil Rights Museum, where they were allowed to walk out onto the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the location of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination.

Bono took time in the afternoon to participate in a short press conference with Rep. Lewis, where he addressed questions about possibly having to work with new leadership in America. After acknowledging both President Bush’s and Senator Kerry’s cooperation on the AIDS initiatives he supports, Bono said, “I plan to be a pain in their ass, no matter who wins.”

U2log.com will publish a full report on the forum, press conference, and tonight’s banquet and award ceremony in the near future.

We can share now that we did manage to get a moment of Bono’s time alone between events, and he had one thing on his brain: U2’s new album. Repeatedly he told us, “You’re going to love the new album! You’re gonna die. It’s so good!”