When I lived in Memphis, Tennessee it was a very chaotic time. We we had lived through a decade of civil unrest. President Kennedy had been assassinated 5 years earlier; the Vivil Rights Movements continually produced violent protests and civil disorder. Furthermore, there was a nationwide anger and unrest over the Vietnam War. Every part of our lives seemed to be in upheaval.
In 1968 I was married, my husband and I both worked. I'll always remember when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated becuase I was pregnant with your mom. Today is not all different becuase we still have racial problems. 1968 the immediate problems were the mayor and the sannation workers; today it's the mayor, the police, and the fireman.
I remember hearing the news late in the afternoon on April 4th. It was shocking and very scary. I was anxious for my husband to come home. It was very intense everybody thought something bad would happen. The National Guard was already here from the March before, and there was already a curfew in place. At night the news continued to talk about the assassination of Dr. King. The news was showing cities rioting, burning buildings, stores, and houses.
The city was under curfew, so I was at my house. It was very frightening.
Being a white person raised in segregation, I had little respect for Dr. King however, I was very sorry that he was assassinated. I did see that civil rights were necessary.
Yes, life did change after Dr. King's death. People and their attitudes changed, but it took after his tragic death.