When King was assassinated, I lived on South Graham in a small house. I was young and had a good life. It wasn't easy, but it was good. The house was located inside a small neighborhood but still was close to everything I needed. Memphis was clean and quiet, a good time. People were very friendly and kind. I had two small children and the whole neighborhood would get together and have a good time. People would have pancake dinners and kids would play outside, it was peaceful. Back then I spent most of my time cleaning the house and taking care of the two boys. Our family would eat together and cooking was a big thing. Raising the family was the main priority. I spent a lot of time meeting new people and visiting with other people. I also spent a lot of time with church and eyeball shopping. Back then, we would play games with the kiss. Parents and their children would sit down and play games together. Now, TV is better and I am more laid back.
When I heard that King was shot, I was shocked. The city was in an uproar. I was worried about my husband getting home. Riots were started and fires began so I was afraid people traveling home might get hurt or stuck. The news came to me when I was at home, more than likely I was cooking dinner. The city was fearful and riots started that night, people were burning things. I didn't feel like it was unsafe near me, but felt bad for King along with the people who were afraid. I thought it was an awful thing to happen and felt as though King knew he would be killed one day.
King was a good man and had a passion for Civil Rights, and he was willing to die for what he believed in. After his death, life didn't change for me. I don't know if people did change due to his death, but people are much different now. Since King was nonviolent, he was different from the world and the city itself. He may have been disappointed about the way things are and how the riots progressed. I find it strange that Memphis was blamed for the assassination when Dallas was not blamed for Kennedy's assassination. Washington was not blamed for Abraham Lincoln's death, so why is Memphis blamed for King's?