My grandparents, Russell and Mary G., were born 1930. Mary was born in Ripley, Tennessee and Russell was born in Memphis, Tennessee. They met in high school in Memphis where they met and were high school sweethearts. They became married in 1960 and had my dad, Russell G. III in 1963. My grandmother was the first black female hired at Wurzburg in Memphis in a clerical position. My grandfather was in and out of a Memphis going to Atlanta to find a new job while my grandmother stayed here. He pushed to desegregate schools while in Atlanta. While in Atlanta, he searches for a home for the three of for a better life because Memphis was a really racist city back then. He recalls while he was in Atlanta, he would sometimes see whites saying racist remarks to blacks or even sometimes peeing on them. Many blacks obeyed in fear of losing their job. He also tells a story of his friend that was working in a restaurant that was being mistreated by a white customer, so his friend goes in the back and urinated in the customer's sweet tea. When Martin Luther King was shot, chaos was everywhere. My grandmother was outside talking to the neighbors when he was shot. People were angry and some were happy. People drove by in their cars yelling, " They finally got that n----." Life was hard before the assassination of MLK, everywhere was segregated including restrooms, restaurants, and other public places. My grandparents said that Martin Luther King was a great man and inspiring; he pushed for social change in America. After the assassination, life got easier for African Americans. Schools, workplaces, and other public places became desegregated. Although some people were still racist, life was easier for blacks to make a living and become a part of social change.