Sammy by Seth M., Harding Academy

In the years of Martin Luther King's death and prior to it my Uncle Sammy lived. When MLK died it was a scary and nerve-wracking time. In the 1960s there was a lot of racial tension and it was almost scary to go out in public because you never knew what was going to happen. Riots and protests were frequent and you could not really talk to anyone without bringing up something about MLK or racism. On a typical day my uncle would go to school and then go home. Even though this seems like a normal everyday life for a kid in school it was not. Racial tension was seen in school all the time and there were fights often. Fighting was a typical part of the school day, but my Uncle Sammy was not a part of it. Today we see all kinds of different racial groups playing together and getting along, but in the 1960s that was not the case. On the day of the assassination Uncle Sammy was at the grocery store with his mom and when MLK was killed they had to leave the store immediately. He remembered that everyone was closing their stores and he was very scared. Lots of people were saying that there were going to be riots and his mom made sure they stayed inside. He was very scared and nervous that night and many other people were too. The night after MLK was killed was a scary and nervous night. Riots were going on, fights were happening, and people were destroying stores shops. In his home that night my uncle did not know what was going to happen. His mother and he were both very scared. The city of Memphis was chaotic that night with riots happening and all kinds of crazy things going on. My uncle thought that all the prejudice and racism was wrong and that MLK was a true inspiration. MLK saw the good in all people and knew that people were created equal . After King's death life did not really change much. Immediately after King's death, life stayed the same for the most part, but in the years after life started to change. My uncle saw then how much of an inspiration MLK was and today we see that even more. MLK impacted life and America in a huge way and we are all grateful for the great things he did for an important cause.