In 1965 my grandmother, Lynda S., married my grandfather Bill S.. In 1966, my mother, Valarie, was born. They had a house in east Memphis and both worked for Dobb's. Living in a city like Memphis was scary because there was lots of rioting and marching going on. There was also a lot of looting and people were breaking into many different places. She was scared that the rioting would come into her neighborhood but thankfully it never did. In 1968, she was expecting their second child, Billy. She would go to work then come home to care for her baby and the house. At the time, their family had only one car and would share it.
When Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis, she was scared because of the rioting. On April 4th, 1968, the day King was assassinated, my grandmother was at work at Dobb's. She remembers everybody being glued to the television. There were no African Americans in her office. As already planned, they were going to leave town that night. That night she remembers driving through Memphis and being scared of both whites and blacks and just wanted her family to be safe. They drove through Mississippi and were scared because there were a lot of racists there and just wanted to pass through quickly.
After King's death, she respected him more after because she could now see what his vision was and what he was trying to accomplish in a peaceful way. His goal was not violence, but unity. Just like her, it took people in Memphis to calm down a little bit and for their attitudes to change. People were confused and questioned his leadership,but they saw the results play out and it became clear to them. My grandmother was not very active in his movement but she came to find respect for King and his movement.