In 1968, Charlie N. was thirty-one, living in Memphis as a non married lawyer. He had been in Memphis for five years in a small apartment in East Memphis on Walnut Grove. Mr. N. had been living in Washington DC, when his father developed heart troubles, and he was called home to Memphis. He was excited to come back to Memphis, for it was full of people involved in government. At the time several African American sanitation workers were complaining about how they were being treated and the conditions they were given to work in. The African American workers had begun to go on strike about how unfairly they were being treated, and Mr. Newman was negotiating with the city to try and increase their pay and conditions. The mayor, during this time, was trying to solve the problems caused by segregation, but was truly struggling with the problem and had no idea what to do.
The locals felt that things were getting out of hand, so they called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to town to help with the rights of the African Americans in Memphis. The last peaceful march had ended in violence where the police sprayed tear gas into the crowd of protestors. Dr. King wanted a peaceful march, so he went to court to get a restraining order for all store owners and pedestrians. Mr. N.’s firm knew that they wanted to represent him, so they sent Mr. N. and his partner to go and converse with Dr. King on the subject. They met at Dr. King’s motel, the Lorraine Motel. There Mr. N. sat on Martin Luther King Jr. ’s bed just a few inches away from him when Dr. King agreed to let Burch, Porter, and Johnson, represent him in court. Aside from meeting one of the most famous civil rights leaders ever, this was relatable to a normal day for Mr. N. He was often working hard in federal court several times a week.
The next day, April 4, 1986, Mr. N., along with a group of lawyers from his firm, went to court to work on getting Dr. King’s restraining order. They were in court all day long, and after Martin Luther King Jr. went back to his motel, and Mr. Newman traveled back to his office on the corner of North Court and Second, he started to hear sirens and wondered what had happened. It was then that he was informed by a friend that Dr. King had been shot and rushed to St. Joseph Hospital. After he heard, Mr. N. immediately jumped into his car and turned on the radio so that he could be continuously informed about the situation while driving to the hospital. At 7:05 PM he heard that Dr. King was dead, and he drove home stunned and shocked.
When Mr. N. arrived home, appalled and astonished, he promptly turned on the television to be informed on how the world was taking the is tragedy. That night he had invited a few friends over to watch the news and what they saw was amazing, numerous national leaders were gathering together to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some even returned for the march the next day. While Mr. N. and his friends were at home watching a tribute to Dr. King’s life, the city was also stunned by his death. Mr. N. described the city as “in a tremendous upset” and having “lots of disorder”. During that dreadful night everyone in Memphis was remarkably stunned.
Before he had graduated law school in 1963 Dr. King had gone to visit Mr. N.’s college, and talk to the collegiate. Mr. N. found King to be a very charismatic leader, who was very important in the battle for civil rights. He also thought very highly of him and said that he was very convincing, and very much believed in his cause. Mr. N. further described Martin Luther King as having a strong faith, and believing that he, himself, could make a difference. Mr. N. also felt that he was an amazing man, and without his leadership no one would have taken his place. He has felt this way since the day he met him in college, to the day that they met again when he represented him in court. Even today, 46 years after his death, he still finds Dr. King to be an exceptional civil rights leader.
After Dr. King’s death Mr. N.’s life changed minutely, but his death did effect a large number of people in the city of Memphis. Even after the tragic incident, Martin Luther King’s peaceful protest march in Memphis proceeded. In honor of Dr. King, 42,000 people, lead by Coretta Scott King, marched for an end to segregation with “I AM A MAN” posters. Sequential to Martin Luther King’s death, many people were greatly inspired by his life. Massive changes were made in the community, it was as if everyone was trying harder for civil rights. A result of the community putting in a greater effort for civil rights, it was voted on to improve the working conditions and pay of the african american sanitation workers. It might have taken some time, but Dr. King’s goal was reached, even after death. He made it known to all people in the United States of America that all men are created equal, and put an end to segregation in the USA.