Byron G. was 35 years old in 1968. He lived in the rural town of Bartlett, TN. At that time, Bartlett was a small town with only one police officer that rode a motorcycle. Living in Bartlett, high schoolers took the part of volunteer firemen. In 1968, he went to work at six a.m. every day and worked eight hours. After getting home from work, he would do any yard work that needed to be done followed by any house work that needed to be finished. He would spend some time with his sons since he was gone a lot while at work. They would eat dinner every night and then go to bed. The format of his typical day differs at this point in time because he is retired and no longer works. The need for yard work and house work do not occur as often, so he does not take part in it every day. There are no longer time constraints as to when he needs to wake up or go to bed; he goes along with his own time schedule and no restrictions.
Thursday, April 4, 1968, Byron remembers a lot of rioting. He worked in downtown Memphis and remembers seeing people breaking windows and starting fires everywhere. Rebellion overtook the city. Since there was a garbage strike at the time, he was forced to weave in and out of trash in the streets on his way to and from work. Byron was working when he heard the news of King's death, but returned home quickly after work and was not really near any of the commotion. Byron was angry and bothered with the craziness and disruption that people began to cause in the city after King's death. He was saddened by the news of his death because he did not believe that there was a need for King to be killed.
The night after his death, Byron went straight home and watched the television with his family. He saw pictures of the reactions and riots around the city. The mayor at the time, Henry Loeb, spoke and tried to keep the peace. The downtown area was in chaos but not much happened in the suburbs. On his way to work the day after the shooting, Byron passed a car with a colored family in it. A little girl sat in back holding a Bible as if saying "everything will be okay."
Before King's death, Byron thought of King as a rebel rouser stirring up racial strife wherever he went, since trouble seemed to follow him. There was a big barrier between whites and colored people and that caused even more tension through King's speeches. Now, Byron has a better understanding of King's agenda and believes that King was ultimately a great man that was misunderstood.
Initially after King's death, things got worse and separation expanded. Whites found it harder to trust others because of the violence they started and many bought guns to protect themselves in a time of increased tension. The trust in the city was similar to a curve because it was low at first but grew as time progressed.