I lived in Memphis, Tennessee. I did everything in my neighborhood, going to school, church, and shop. Everyone in my neighborhood supported each other. my neighborhood was mostly a black community, so I did not know much about the race issue. In 1968, I lived with my mother, step-father, grandmother, three brothers, and my sister. The children went to school and my mother and step-father went to work, while my grandmother stayed at home and waited for us after school. every single day was just like the next, like today.
The day Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated was a very dark and dreary. I was only 8 years old. Everyone I saw was moving slow looking sad. All the kids in school was dismissed early. When I was walking home, I was hearing that King was shot and killed, but I didn't know what was happening since I was so young. That night, I did the same routine I did as any other day. I did see armed guards and trucks to keep the peace because people were starting fires, and shooting. I didn't know much about King before he was killed. I knew he was good man hoping for equal rights for all. There wasn't much change in my life after his death. People did have different attitudes depending on the environmental in social issues. Although, I did start to understand Kings' stands on violence and equal treatment for all.
All in all, in this interview, I gained a deeper knowledge of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he was assassinated. I also grew another understanding of how this were the day and night in Memphis the day of his death. Doing this narrative let me experience how and why these things happened to create history, and life today.