Mary Ann G. walked out of her family’s one-story painted brick house, in a rushed manner, out of fear she would miss the bus. When her tired legs eventually reached the bus stop, she noticed the bus had just pulled up. As her change fell into the can for bus admission, she looked up, noticing a smiling black woman seated in the front of the bus. African American’s rights had just been changed. There were no more black and white drinking fountains, no more blacks being forced to sit in the back of the bus. Yet Mary Ann had witnessed racial discrimination. She had seen innocent blacks going to jail for participating in sit ins and peaceful protests. When she saw these awful stories unfolding on her family’s box-shaped television screen, she felt compassion. Mary Ann questioned herself, “Why are these harmless people being tortured because of their skin color?” At age eighteen, she was usually preoccupied with her friends, classmates, and boys, and she had never really thought about this question much before. The bus slowly started; Mary Ann expected a thirty minute ride to her high school, Immaculate Conception. While seated in the plastic seat of the burning hot bus, Mary Ann thought of the upcoming weekend planned while riding downtown on the trolley along with her girlfriends. Her thoughts of weekends in downtown came to an abrupt halt when the bus reached the corner where the Garbage Strike men protested.
The majority of protestors formed a large group of garbage men, holding up signs that protested equality, fair wages, and an easier work system. The most powerful shock came to Mary Ann when she saw a group of the protestors holding up signs that said, “I AM A MAN! !” Several minutes later, the bus pulled up to her high school. She stepped down the dark steps of the bus and briskly walked to her school. As she had expected, she was late to class. Moving briskly down the school’s locker-lined hallway, Mary Ann glanced into different classrooms. She approached her blue locker and reached for her schoolbooks. Her first class was Literature.
That day, April 4, 1968, drifted by as fast as a cloud moving through high speeds of wind. It was not until the afternoon that the day started to slow down. It was not until then that the earth took a sudden pause, awed by the revolting and sometimes cruel power of humanity. Mary Ann found her two eighteen year old feet at the bus stop again, but this time, she would be going home. As she walked inside her middle-class house, she was greeted by her younger sisters.
Mary Ann was the eldest of the five sisters-Carol, Emily, Lisa, Paula, and then-herself. She was adored by her siblings and loved by her parents. Paula and Mary Ann proceeded to clean the house and prepare dinner while Carol, Emily, and Lisa fought over the television stations- debating between cartoons and the news channel. Mother and Father had just come home, giving hugs and kisses. Mary Ann was putting the potatoes in the oven when her siblings yelled, “Mary Ann, come quick!” Mary Ann, her sisters, and her parents stared in shock at the television screen as the news reporter informed the family that the incredible, peaceful Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., had just been shot. Everyone, and not just the people in her “little bubble,” everyone in Memphis, black and white, poor and rich, were struck with sadness and fear-sadness that the extraordinary gentleman was gone and fear of what would happen to their own lives, what changes would take place. A curfew was issued that night and the following nights. As Mary Ann laid down in her bed that night, her sweats of fear soaking the cotton sheets, she pondered about which changes would take place in Memphis. Her father predicted Memphis would become the site of national media attention. When the sun rose the next morning, she found his words to be true.
The shot that killed Martin Luther King was meant to silence the city of Memphis and all those involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Mary Ann heard the voice of the mayor in her family’s television screen urging for everyone, blacks and whites, to remain calm. Although night curfews were issued, violence seemed to spread through Memphis like a wildfire. Federal Marshals came to the city to restore law and order. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, did some research in Memphis, hoping to find the killer of Martin Luther King Jr. The day following his assassination was a day of prayer at Mary Ann’s Catholic high school. Her family, classmates, and teachers all seemed to be trying to turn their lives back to normal. Yet, there was still tension in the air, a tension created out of fear. Mary Ann was scared; everyone was scared. When she came home from school that day, April 5, 1968, she found her family huddled around the television. This time, her sisters were not fighting between the news and cartoons.
Although Mary Ann’s thoughts remained the same, she started to wonder about this incredible man’s life in the days following his assassination. She also started to realize how little she knew about this gentlemen. Yet through the power of growing media and technology, her knowledge would soon change. She did know, though, before his assassination occurred, that Martin Luther King was a “man of faith, a peace activist, and a family man.” She and her family members, all of white skin, never despised the African-Americans. Mary Ann, a member of the Catholic faith, was taught to love and stand up for others. As for Mary Ann, life was quickly starting to become normal again. Little did she know, this event would be one of the most life- changing times in America. She was a senior in high school, ready to enter the real world. Being up to date on the latest news seemed to be the least of her worries.
It had now been four days since Martin Luther King had been assassinated. Mary Ann walked out of her family’s one story painted brick house feeling glad she would catch the bus with time to spare. When the bus finally arrived, she was one of the first people to sit down. As she got settled into the front section of the bus, an African-American girl, about Mary Ann’s age, stepped on the crammed bus. The young African-American, in a brown tattered dress, would have to stand for the rest of the long bus ride. No one gave her a seat, not even the wealthy young white man seated right in front of the girl. Mary Ann slowly stood up, offering the girl her seat. Although Mary Ann would have to stand up the rest of the lengthy bus ride, she did not mind it. Mary Ann started to really realize how poorly the blacks had been treated. Through the matter of time, though, others would gain a sense of appreciation for the black community. African Americans were now equals to the white community.
Although Mary Ann was just a chatty school girl, she did learn a lesson the day Martin Luther King was shot. “Everyone in life deserves a chance, a fair shot, so we can all achieve to our greatest capacity.” When asked if Martin Luther King achieved to his greatest ability, Mary Ann said, “Yes, he could have done much more though." Martin Luther King Jr. was a wonderful leader who empowered others to do great things. Yet, just imagine what he could have done if his life had not been taken. America is a “Melting Pot.” Some people do great things to change the world. Everyone hopes to learn from each other. We learned a lot from Martin Luther King Jr.; we learned to persevere and to let equality reign.