David P. by Gary G., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School

Where did you live?, What was it like?, What stood out about living in memphis in the 1960’s?.
This were very quiet it was a segregated community.

Describe your life in 1968, like what was a typical day of school?

You got to school at about 7:30 am and you have school until about 3:00 pm.

What do you remember about the day Martin Luther King was assassinated?

It was a day like any other, I went to a segregated school.

How did you feel about the assassination?

At the time I did not even notice a difference.

What was going through your mind, you must have heard about it on the news?

Not a whole lot, president Kennedy was shot about 5 years before that so people were conditioned to acts like this. At the time I was sad.

How did people around you react like your friends or relatives?

Well we just watched in T.V. to see what happened. Most people in my neighborhood were really surprised.

Did anything in your life change after that?

To be completely honest no nothing changed.

Do you remember what you were doing at the time?

We were eating supper when it came on the news.

Did you have any opinion on MLK before this happened?

I was sixteen and not much into politics, so no.

What do you think of MLK now?

I think he was a very good guy that gave inspiration to a lot of black people that needed it.

Did your life in Memphis change after this?

No I continued on with my daily life.