Being raised in the South where racial segregation was common, Martin Luther King Jr. brought up ideas that made me uncomfortable. He didn't accept things that I considered the "status-quo", and he promoted needed change that was almost nerve wracking to me. I was raised in the South. My mother was one of very few women who worked, so I was raised by an African American maid. I loved that maid like a mother and was never worried about going into the part of town where she lived. That maid set my views of colored people.
The morning of April 4, 1968, started off just like any other day. I sent my husband off to work, fed my children breakfast, and sent them off to school. I was on the mothers of Harding committee; then, I grocery shopped, and cleaned. The first news I heard on Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination was when my husband called me from work. After that, I ran into the living room and turned on the TV. It was all over the television; everyone was watching it. I saw all the marches on TV; the black garbage workers were holding signs that said "I am a man." That was so devastating and eye-opening for me to see how these people felt, when to me; I had thought that's just how things were.
I lived on Cole Grove that backed up to I-240. A sense of fear settled over me as I looked out the large window in my kitchen where I saw the armed men going down the interstate to contain the riots that had broken out in the city. All my friends were calling each other wondering what exactly happened, why it happened, and what should we do.
It when from a normal day to my husband's coming home early and us being glued to the TV all night. I was scared for my children due to all of the riots; we were all ill at ease. It was like everybody was in a state of shock and fear. We had a curfew and none of us left our houses.
After the shooting things started to change. I felt like there was a degree of animosity between the two races as a result of the shooting. Also, much blame was put on the city of Memphis even though the shooter, James Earl Ray, was not from Memphis. Furthermore, I believe he was hired to do it. I wish that Martin Luther King Jr. could come back now. He led in a very non-violent way, and I wish he could come back and lead again today. It became clear that because of the shooting and fear I experienced on that day, I must maintain a Christian outlook on everything and always seek God in dark times.