Allan K. by Rivi W., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School

Mr. Allan K. was living in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960’s when the Martin Luther King assassination took place. He lived three blocks from the Margolin Hebrew Academy. What stood out to him about living in Memphis in the 1960’s is that everything was really segregated.

"In the 1960’s I had a lot of things going on," said Mr. K. "I was the national president of NCSY. I went to the Margolin Hebrew Academy and was in school until 6:15." He told about how back then the school was coed and he was in the second graduating class of the school. "When I was sixteen years old I learned how to type on a typewriter. I rode my bike to school."

Mr. K. clearly remembers April 4th,1968, the day when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. "I was at an NCSY (National Conference of Synagogue Youth) meeting at someone’s house." he described. "The T.V was on and I saw it right then. Everyone was shocked and they were glued to the T.V. The father had a store in the black neighborhood and all the blacks were rioting and fire balled the whole city. Everything became very chaotic and out of control. Riots were going on all through the night as well as looting. Everyone was going crazy and there was a lot of chaos. I was just fascinated about it all but upset about all the protesting from the people. I was just obsessed about how they were going to catch the guy. The mayor was prejudiced."

Mr. K. describes the night after Dr. King was shot as "a chaotic night of noise and rioting from the Memphis community." He goes on to describe how "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was no longer alive... I felt like Memphis was no longer safe, wherever I was. I admired the idea of his peaceful protest. After Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's death, everyone protested and didn’t listen to him. I didn’t believe people should be given things even though they were slaves thousands of years ago! After his death people were more scared about living here... There was tension in the community and with the politicians. It was all a catalyst for equality, and to fulfill his dream, people were afraid... There was fighting about who would take over (leadership) with the black community. I think that people’s attitudes changed, but it took time.