In 1968 I was twenty-six years old. I lived on 1426 Kurr Avenue Memphis,Tennessee. I lived in a 2-bedroom duplex. My neighborhood wasn't a real hood neighborhood. Everyone around looked out for each other. There wasn't a lot of fighting or gun violence back then. It was nothing like it is now. The fact that it was a clear divide between the race of people made living in Memphis at that time a factor. It stood out to me most when they started integrating the schools together. There was much family unity going around.
My life in the 1960's was like a typical parent life. I ran a home of four children and a husband. I worked full time, working at a grocery store from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Today four out five of them are grown and three have children. I am still working but it's part time and I don't still have the same demands as I did then. I have six grandchildren and I don't have to worry with them because they know I am old and I'm not like I used to be. Today I do have to worry about gun violence and fighting and what's the next move going to be. I never know if I'm safe or if I'm going to wake up the next morning alive and breathing.
It was a rainy, foggy day. I was ironing my children's clothes, and all of a sudden all the phones and TV's went dead. There was an announcement that told all people to stay in their houses unto further notice. Everyone got really scared then there was much talk about a race riot. All of the people, thought they were going to burn down Memphis and that was he end of everything. I was very sad, hurt, and angry. I cried and prayed and I kept my children inside for three days. People were stealing and dividing up among neighborhoods. There were no lights, no TV's and no transportation. I thought it was over.
My family and I stayed inside and I didn't take my kids to school, my husband and I didn't go to work. They set up another March For Memphis. The city was real scary because no one knew what was going to happen next. At that time it began to destroy families.they took all prayer out of schools, and the government stopped letting parents take their children to school so they rode buses.
Before MLK was shot I absolutely thought of him as my second Christ. He was a,de so much in his image. He was a holy man and had died and gone to heaven to be in a better place. He didn't have to suffer anymore in his life.
Life changed tremendously. It got really rough on people, schools, people, and government even changed. My neighborhood changed. Schools started bustin (moving blacks with whites). People's attitudes changed towards thing because they just didn't understand what happen. Everything at that time was gone to me. Life has gotten harder ever since.