The person I interviewed was my grandfather, Carl M. In 1968, he was 29 years old. He lived on Danville road, in Memphis Tennessee, which is in south-east Memphis. This was a fairly new developing area, it was close to schools and shopping areas. In the 1960s Memphis was a good place to live and work, had moderate income and had safety throughout the whole city. There were many things to do, his church was nearby, kids went to local schools with close playgrounds. In 1968 a typical day for him in Memphis was to work five days a week for NCR corporation. He worked on cash registers throughout the whole city and could drive anywhere and felt comfortable everywhere he went. Compared to then, many things have changed, many of the places he thought nothing of going to have become less desirable places to go to.
The day that Martin Luther King Jr. was killed started out as a normal day in Memphis. Later there were protest marches in downtown Memphis regarding the conditions of the sanitation workers. He and his family were eating out that evening when they heard there might be rioting so they decided to go straight home. Everyone was surprised and shocked when they heard what had happened and all wondered, who did it, and what was going to happen now. That night after getting home everyone was on their toes but nothing specific stands out. The night of MLK's death after hearing the news there was no hesitation and we headed straight home getting away from the city and off the streets as fast as possible. All the news channels covered the story on television widely, there were police officers and cars everywhere and many people were arrested. He thought of MLK as a well educated man who's main goal was to help the black people have a better life, he promoted peaceful demonstrations and protests, and highly stressed non-violence. After his death, my grandfather thought it was horrible and that many problems and hatred would rise and become a major problem. Life after MLKs death caused division, more enforced separating the blacks and whites. Many people had many different opinions and thoughts on rising problems which he wasn't sure if it assisted or hurt the African Americans at this time. The attitude of people varied, some were not effected at all and some had complete thought changes, so some attitudes changed dramatically and some moderately in both ways.
My grandfather ended the interview by saying "I am sorry that I don't remember any more specifics, because it has been so long ago. We had two small children ages one and four and were concerned how it would effect them in the future."