A normal day in the life of sixteen year old Rick B. in the 1960's included attending school at Harding Academy of Memphis, playing sports, and then off to work at the Corondelet grocery store. However on April 4, 1968, his normal routine was interrupted by an important historical event that shaped our nation's past.
While working at the grocery store, Rick's boss called for all employees and customers to go home immediately because Martin Luther King Jr. had just been shot downtown at the Loraine Motel. Rick had not heard much about King, just what his parents and peers had told him. He knew King came to Memphis because of the sanitation strike, "but I didn't remember any trash piling up in my part of town," said Rick. All he knew was that King was a man working for African American rights.
However, almost immediately the city shut down and Memphis felt like an eery ghost town after King's assassination. Rick got word that all after school activities were postponed and he even cancelled a date with his girlfriend, Cindy Cooper, who later became Cindy B. Rick described a curfew being put into place and the whole town basically holding their breath in anticipation. "We were expecting riots and demonstrations, and those came," said Rick, "but they seemed so far away from our world." He lived on 570 Alexander street near the University of Memphis. It took years for the gravity of the assassination and protests to really sink in.
At the time Rick described not really understanding the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. All he knew was that King was a man that was stirring up trouble in the cities he visited. Decades later, life looks much different for Rick. He now lives in Nashville, has a wife, has a job, has three kids, and eleven grandchildren. He now understands the importance of that night in Memphis and how it has affected our country. Rick stated, "People were changed by King, but it took time. After we understood his intentions and goals he gained respect and fame."