23 years old
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
Memphis. The time was alright to me; I didn’t have any incidents. I’ve always liked the weather here.
Describe your life in 1968. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? School? Work? How was it different from today?
I was working at a sundry store; I was out of school. There are more jobs available for African Americans than back then. African Americans are more apt to get jobs now; I remember they wouldn’t hire me at McDonalds.
How was life for Caucasian people?
Caucasian people were sad and life for them was bad.
What do you remember about the day King was assassinated? What was different than normal? How did you feel? What did you think? Where were you when you heard? How did you react? How did people around you react? How did things change throughout the night?
It had snowed and everybody was just in an uproar; it was a very sad night (he was assassinated in the evening). I remember the garbage man being on strike. I was sad; I thought that a lot of things would be undone. I knew there would be no other person like him. I was at home. I was shocked, and couldn’t keep my eyes off the TV. They were quiet and upset as well; everyone was in shock. Everybody was on a curfew.
Describe your night after King was shot? Where were you that night? What was the city like?
Everyone was still on curfew; the curfew was 6:00 P.M. I was in the house. Everybody was chaotic, and they were cutting up downtown were eh was assassinated.
What did you think of King before and after his death?
I admired him a lot about taking up for nonviolence.
Did life change at all after his death? Did people act different or view problems differently? Do you think people’s attitudes changed?
Yes, some things had opened up that weren’t open for African Americans. Yes, there views and attitudes changed; African Americans were more bold.
Did things he fought for change?
Well, Obama became president and everybody got to vote. MLK had a dream and Obama was it.
How do you think Martin Luther King’s family felt? Was his family on TV at the time?
They were very devastated; however, his wife was very strong. Yes, they were on TV at the time.
Did MLK impact everyone around the world?
I’m pretty sure he impacted everyone else as much as he impacted me.
Is there anything else about that time in your life that we haven’t discussed that you’d like to add?
No.