Diana W. was a typical twenty-one year old woman in the 1960s. She graduated high school in 1967 and married in that same year. Diana felt safe and happy during this time. She enjoyed going to downtown Memphis on the bus without fearing for her safety. Diana said that people were more friendly then and she had closer, more trustworthy neighbors.
Since Diana's husband was in the Navy, they began traveling around the country. In 1968, she worked at a department store in Idaho. Before Martin Luther King's death, Diana had no opinion on King because she knew nothing about him. Though Diana was living in Idaho during King's assassination, her mother sent her letters from Memphis about events and racial unrest in the city.
The day King was assassinated Diana was having a normal day in Idaho. She received letters from her mother about everything that was happening in Memphis. She said that this was the first time where racial tensions were high. Because Diana's father was a policeman, she feared for his life. That night, Diana's mother wrote about rioting in the city and her father told about the violence and the fear that he was feeling.
After King's death, most of what Diana knew about Martin Luther King was that he was a black man who was helping the garbage collectors. She heard lots of negativity about King and his supporters. After the assassination, Diana said that people thought more about civil rights and became more aware of the civil rights movement. She said that during this time, it was hard for her to see the rioter's view because there was racism everywhere.
Diana is now retired and has two daughters, five granddaughters, and one great- granddaughter on the way. She lives in Millington, Tennessee and enjoys camping and spending time with her family.