Life was rough in the 1960s for Patricia E., a young African American lady. She lived in Claiborne Homes which was a public housing project, and she was one of five children. Everything was separated then such as water fountains, restaurants, and bathrooms. In that time period, there was very little integration. Once, her mother went to purchase shoes for her family at a nice store called Goldsmith’s, which was very popular store in the 60’s. African Americans were not even allowed to enter the store, so her mother had to trace their feet to tell the store clerk their sizes and hand the tracings to the store clerk who would go and bring the shoes to them. Blacks could only enter the movie theatre through a back entrance whereas the white people could use the front entrance. She was supposed to sit behind the last white person on a bus. Frequently, rude, disrespectful white people would sit in the back of the bus which would force her to stand. Although it has harsh and difficult, this was the way of life for Miss E., but it taught her how to survive.
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis, Patricia E. was employed at the Universal Life Insurance company. This was the first black owned insurance company in Memphis. By then she had graduated from high school, and she was fed up with being discriminated against by whites. Miss E., along with a group of other African Americans, decided to protest peacefully as Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. had taught. Blacks were prohibited from entering the public library in Memphis, so Miss E. walked into the library and sat down silently. She was instructed to keep her head down and try to block out the whites’ taunting and ridicule. Shutting her eyes tightly, Miss E. was called cruel names, spit on, and had her hair pulled. Before she knew it, she was being handcuffed and taken down to the jail where she would stay that night. Although she was terrified, Miss E. learned to endure this type of treatment from whites, but she would never stop striving for equal rights.
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, Patricia E. was sitting in her “mama’s” living room. The news came on television that he had been shot, and after that things became extremely chaotic. Her mother kept her and her siblings inside to protect them from the violence that was erupting. There were fires burning, shootings, and furious black people were rioting in the streets. The violence got so out of hand that the National Guard was called in. Miss E. realized that they were facing a major problem. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had preached non violence, but now he was gone. Nobody after him was nonviolent, so the little peace they had maintained before would be destroyed. She knew that her life in the near future would become even more difficult than it had been before. Patricia E. and countless other black people across America felt lost and confused without their wise leader.
The violence continued throughout the night after King was shot. The streets were crowded with furious, black people including Patricia E. Miss E. and many others were not actually rioting though. They were all outside so they could be together and figure out what was going on. Then, the police came and arrested many of the black people on the streets for breaking the curfew, and among these people was Miss E. She was arrested a second time for standing up for what she believed in. Already there was a huge change without a leader to guide them because the idea of being peaceful had been abandoned. She immediately realized the significance of losing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as their leader. She knew that the leaders after him would not be committed to having peace like he was.
Patricia E. had always thought very highly of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She admired him because he was nonviolent, and he taught people to do nonviolent protests. Also, unlike many other leaders, he was not arrogant, and he did not act conceited. Miss E. described, “He was a person that said black, white, green, blue, orange, everyone was created equally.” She loved that to him everybody was equal, no matter their race. Miss E. looked up to him because he had the ability to inspire people and to stand up for their rights peacefully. He believed that violence was never the solution. Even before his death, she appreciated what a great leader he was. After his death, she was extremely sad because she felt that no other person could ever take his place. She thought that leaders like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton put on a big show for the cameras and were not truly committed to equality.
Life definitely changed for Patricia E. after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. They were confused without a leader to guide them. New leaders were chosen though, and their problems were sorted out. Miss E. felt the tension between blacks and whites. Black people still had to respect white people no matter how cruelly the whites treated them. Over time though, blacks slowly obtained more and more rights. Eventually, they would have all the same rights as whites, but there would always be racial issues and prejudice. Patricia E. is glad she lived through that rough time though. “It taught me how hard it was to survive, but I did. I survived.”