Robert H. by Alexa R., Harding Academy

Mr. Robert H. was seventeen years old the day that Martin Luther King Junior died. That day was like any other day. He woke up and went to school. Usually he would go to the diner or drive-in with his friends after school, but this day, he was going on a date. Robert was on a date with his girlfriend when he remembers seeing riots outside of the diner. Like most everyone else, he did not leave the diner until he saw police arrive. Robert took his girlfriend and they ran outside to his car. It was then that he found out the riots were due to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. When they got to his car, he saw that the passenger side window had been smashed in. He was upset about this because this was his first car, but he was more concerned with getting his girlfriend home and making sure his family was okay.

That night, things died down some, and people spent more time indoors. People were scared, so families stayed inside and spent more time with their families. Robert recalls that things seemed even more segregated than before. Everyone was mad. Mothers were mad because children died and children were mad because they couldn't play with friends. Robert believed that Martin Luther King Jr. was a good man, but his followers there too extreme.