LaRuth L, was 14 years old during the time period when Dr. King was assassinated. LaRuth lived in Midtown Memphis, near South Parkway. As she states, “It was a nice neighborhood, super nice neighborhood.” Families were raised and children attended the best schools in Memphis. LaRuth states, “Memphis in the sixties was a quiet quaint city.” The environment was nurturing and she was satisfied with where she was.
“Life in 1968 were turbulent times and great times” LaRuth states. During that time, you could leave your doors unlocked and not worry about burglars. LaRuth enjoyed school because of the interaction with one another that was shown every day. She was a seventh grade student attending Hamilton High. At Hamilton High, there was no gang involvement and people often got along with one another. A typical day would have been, getting up, going to school, doing lessons, going to each class. At the time, they were passing classes, they would go from history to perhaps PE, then they would go to English class. She was a kid and luckily she didn’t have to depend on herself for any of her clothing or food. Her parents would always provide it for her and her family. “So as kid, it was pretty laid back” says LaRuth.
The day Dr. King was assassinated, LaRuth was in her seventh grade History class which was where and when she found out. During the same time she heard, she and her classmates witnessed a city bus being attacked. “I was shocked” said LaRuth. They were told to that their school was closing, and that Martin Luther King was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel. At that time, LaRuth didn’t think about the strike and he was in town because of the strike She walked home with her friends and talking about what happened that day.
The night after king was shot was bizarre. At first, no one could believe that he had been shot. Everyone was in complete shock. The fact that he was killed in Memphis made it difficult for everyone to fathom. This is what Memphis is now known for and it shouldn't be like that. LaRuth and her family stayed at home watched and listened to the news and listening to the radio. It was all over the news. Every station was talking was about it. “There was total chaos everywhere” stated LaRuth.
LaRuth always and will continue to view Dr. King as a great man who was a great visionary, who also stood for nonviolence and the civil rights of people, not just African Americans, but all people. She compares him to Gandhi, for his great thoughts and achievements. Dr. King was able to show that you can’t judge people by the color of their skin but what they truly are and what they can become. “To me, that always stood out” LaRuth said.
After the death of Dr. King, people changed. They started to act differently. However, unfortunately, some people have forgotten. When situations like this occur, things go back to the way they were and people don’t really pay attention anymore to what had happen rather to their daily lives. LaRuth will always remember him and what he did. He was someone who we can’t forget and have to remember what he did for not only us, African Americans but for everyone. “Some things change for the greater good” states LaRuth.
The last thing that LaRuth wanted to mention was that she believes that we need more visionaries similar to Dr. King. If we did, we certainly would be reminded on how phenomenal, important, and impactful Dr. King was.
What left me as I interviewed LaRuth, was that if you have an aspiration that you want to achieve, you should try accomplish it even if there will be obstacles along the way. No matter what interferes, know that there will be something even bigger waiting for you to achieve and acquire.