Mr. Adkins, by Molli A., Harding Academy

I was thirty years old in 1968, and I lived in North Memphis with four children. The president was assassinated, and there was a lot of unrest. I worked at the Tennessee Employment Security which helped people find jobs. Back in 1968, it was a slower life, less crime, not as many people, and no technology. I was going to the store and I heard on the radio about Martin Luther King, they made a curfew to clear the roads so, I immediately turned around and went right back home. It was a scary night because someone killed a black leader and everyone was upset. I felt very hurt and didn't really know what to think. During the night, nothing really had changed, but it was very quiet because all of the stores were closed from the curfew. Before Martin Luther King's death, I didn't think much about him. After his death, it made me realize how bad things are between black and white, it made me mad at the guy who killed him. Life changed a little but usually once something big like that happens it different for a little while then goes right back to normal, and that's what happened. The blacks were angry at the whites for the death. Up until that time, I had tried to change how I viewed the blacks. This is what I remember from the day of Martin Luther King's death.