I had been living in Memphis for three years and was 27 years old. I was in the Navy and saw Memphis as a clean city where I could raise a family. The city had almost a small town feel.
Nearer to the day of the assassination, the city's population seemed divided though.A normal work day began at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m., but I tended to stay late because of the five year plan I was on with the Navy and because of my connections to the data processing and accounting departments. At the time, my wife, Mava, was expecting a child. Often, I would spend time with her and my daughter, Denise, doing yard work and other activities.
Then, on April 4th, my wife called me at work about the assassination. Naturally, rumors spread throughout the workplace and many people, especially women, were dismissed for the day. One of the things I heard, although I do not know whether it was fact or faction, was that rioters were throwing rocks off the interstate onto cars. Still, as things seemed to settle, I continued working. Since I worked for the FBI, I had my suspicions about King. During the March on Washington and other political events, the FBI thought King might be a communist and thus monitored him heavily. Honestly, I doubted his sincerity.
Leaving work around nine or ten that night, I drove down Poplar and saw White Station Tower, but no other cars were out. The streets were empty. I felt relieved to get home because my wife and I were nervous since she and Denise had been alone that day. After the assassination, Memphis seemed to shift towards becoming a larger city. But since I did not have a job that involved working with African-Americans, I do not remember perceiving any large attitude shifts. Still, my perspective on King over time transformed. Today, I remember him as a sincere man who pushed our nation to make great strides and who helped his race immensely in its fight for equality.