Laura T.’s word on Martin Luther King’s death were that it was “something much bigger than nothing.” King’s assassination was “much bigger than the death of a person, it symbolized something much more. Killing King represented shooting down the civil rights movement.
Dr. T. was there to experience everything and shared her thoughts and memories with me.
For Dr. T., there was not a whole lot of fear. More like “urgency” she states. She was in the 10th grade when it happened. She described the whole ordeal as a lot of commotion. She remembers sitting in English class hearing footsteps running around the halls, yelling and screaming. Her teacher went out to go see what was going on, and ended up being gone a long time. A young boy then went to check on her and the class watched her escaping to her car, leaving the students behind.
The realization of how serious the situation at hand was finally dawned on Laura when it came to here that, “you know, teachers are people too,” and the teachers were scared. Dr. T. found sanctuary with Mrs. Cole, her favorite teacher’s room until it was safe to walk to her friend’s aunt’s house. From there she waited until the busses were running again, rode home, and there she stared.
Dr. T. said that the significance of being alive during those times was that they knew all of the facts about the civil rights movement. Nowadays they don’t’ understand the total impact of the movement. She says when she was younger she “doesn’t remember thinking” much on King. She knows “he was a good man, preacher, and a really important leader,” and that he was going to help them through segregation. Other than that, she couldn’t form a valid opinion on the parents. Her parents used to go to temple to listen to him, but they never took her along.
A little while after Dr. King’s death, Laura and her friends wanted to learn more about the leader. She researched, educated herself on the subject, read biographies, and read some of his books. I’m glad I got to learn about her life. Dr. T. lived through the civil rights movement at the age of fifteen, and is a great role model because she never showed fear, always put her best foot forward.