On April 4, 1968 a great tragedy happened; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. This period of time affected many people, but did not stop African Americans from having their freedom. Dr. King left great messages in the air, people grasped them, and did something with them. African Americans were extremely angry with white people and their community. Everywhere you looked there would be violence. People hate to think about this time in history, but sometimes it is impossible to not think about it. Kids learned about Dr. King’s history in class and with their families. When kids, teens, and adults try to process it all, it is hard to have just one feeling about it. Billions and billions of people saw, experienced, and lived through his assassination, and one of those people was John G. Mr. John was twenty-seven at the time, and almost twenty-eight. He lived in Memphis, Tennessee in a small house in Raleigh, a small suburb of Memphis. The neighborhood had many African Americans, and it was awkward for him. It was rare for a white man to live in a big neighborhood of African Americans. People wondered why Mr. John was living in that neighborhood and Mr. John said he sees African Americans like any other person.
Mr. John worked at North Memphis High School, which was only a few blocks away from his house. North Memphis was right across from Rhodes College. More than fifty percent of the people that went to North Memphis High School were African Americans. Mr. John was wondering where all the white people were, but later he realized that most of them moved out of that part of Memphis. Mr. John taught seventh, eighth, and ninth graders; he loved to teach them, but he wanted a change in his life. He decided that he was going to coach tennis at North Memphis. When he got his team together and ready for practice, there were only a couple of white people. He knew that there was going to be almost all African Americans because of the large population of black people at North Memphis. When the North Memphis tennis team had their first practice there was only about one or two guys who actually knew how to play tennis. Mr. John knew the only way to make them good was by making them practice daily, and that is just what they did. The team and Mr. John would go down into the basement of the school and hit a ball against the wall with rackets. The team did this for hours and eventually Mr. John would leave them at school while he went home. He would go to work, straight to tennis practice, go home, and that was the typical day for Mr. Gardner in 1968. Sadly, it was much more different than it is today; African Americans were treated differently in a bad way. Today, black people are treated like white people in most states.
When John Gardner heard the news of Dr. King being assassinated, he did not really know how to feel. Earlier that afternoon, he had tennis practice and dropped each of them off at their houses. After all of the team was delivered home, he listened to his regular radio channel, and all of the sudden, the breaking news was announced. That day was definitely not normal because our leader, our hope creator, and our king was killed. Mr. John thought it was not that surprising to him. The night before the assassination, the King was pretty much asking to be killed. The night after the assassination affected more African Americans than it did white people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the African American’s leader and to see him get shot; that would be heartbreaking. When Mr. John looked to his right or left there were riots or fights people had caused just because of the catastrophe. It was hard for Mr. John to describe the feelings people had through the night and after. He knew that being mad was not going to solve anything. He put a smile on his face and made the best out of the day.
The night of the King’s assassination was the craziest it had been during the whole situation. Nobody enjoyed it, but they did not just sit around either. It was mainly African Americans having riots because it affected them more. There was not one area where something was not going on. Mr. John was not in a hotel or out of town, he was at home. He previously went to work and tennis practice. It was a normal day for him until that night begun. His team was getting really good and did not want this to get in their way. All schools were closed that next day because the county did not want more trouble at school. Mr. John tried his best at acting like it was a regular day the next morning. Of course, he did not go to work, but he did have tennis practice. When he saw his team play he realized that they put a smile on their face, and acted like it did not happen.
Mr. John is one of the people that looked up to the King. Dr. Martin Luther lead people in a good direction and he preached when he spoke. Some leaders would show how they feel by violence, but not Dr. King. When he would show his emotions he would preach amazing speeches. Mr. John knew someone was needed during that time and the King was the one. People today still think of him like that; Mr. John still thinks of him the way he was when he was living and how great of a leader he was. Some people think that the King was preaching the wrong things, but the other side of the people knew that they were wrong, not him. Mr. John knew that the King was a great influence for African Americans and that Dr. King will never be forgotten. Before the King died he was a great hero and after he was shot, he was still the amazing hero he was before. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not one of those leaders that people talk about maybe once or twice in their life. He is someone that people think about constantly and kids learn about daily.
Life was very different after the King’s death; people looked at life situations differently. They realized that violence was not the answer to everything. When someone would be sad or depressed, they would try to find the good point of view. Mr. John realized after his death that some bands and artists did not get back together. Mr. John remembers the King in a great experience he had the next morning of the assassination. The morning after the assassination, Mr. John decided to drive around Memphis and see what was going on. There were no cars to be found. Mr. John was the only person driving. He looked out his window and saw stores and restaurants with boarded windows; the manager either had broken windows or didn’t want them broken. Suddenly Mr. John saw a huge car heading his way. It was a tank-like van with tented windows that were impossible to see through. When he got a good look at the car he realized that it was a van that carried soldiers, but could not see them inside. The vehicle was coming towards him and he found out that it was another riot a group of people started. It was a very interesting experience for Mr. John, a moment he will never forget. He loves telling that story to his friends and family because it reminds him of the assassination of our leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He will always be in our memories and hearts of people everywhere, especially in Memphis, Tennessee.