Sandra, by Tucker B., Harding Academy

Sandra was a twenty-two year old, recently married woman living in Raleigh, TN in 1968. Sandra states that Raleigh was a suburb of Memphis that was home to many young couples. It was very safe in Raleigh, and the standard of living wasn't expensive. In 1968, Sandra was married and expecting her first child. She worked at the Sears in Crosstown in the auditing department. When King was assassinated, Sandra was working at Sears. She said that she was scared about how people would react to the death of the civil rights leader. After his death, a curfew was set for the people. She remembers the streets near the incident being sandbagged by the Memphis Police and National Guard. After the assassination, she went home because of the curfew and watched the news with her husband. Sandra was very concerned for what would happen. She stated that she respected King for his view, but didn't agree with everything he said. She also says that his death caused a lot of conflict between people. Sandra again says that his death caused people to change their attitudes and to act differently. It also increased racial division. At the end, she added that this event has changed things forever.