Interviewee Name: Dollie A.
Age in 1968: 14 yrs. Old
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
I lived in the Cleaborn Holmes. What stood out about was going downtown. There were so many stores...and you had Beale Street. Downtown was like a mall to us.
Describe your life in 1968. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? School? Work? How was it different from today?
We had good life in ’68, our teenage life was the best. After leaving school, we went straight outdoors and stayed out until 7:00. Then we would go indoors, take a bath, and go to bed. I enjoyed school, school was fun. We never had school busing, we went to school in our walking area. There was really no crime.
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?
We were in school, in class, it started getting dark outside, and next thing you knew the announced he had been shot. We were so young...it hurt, but we didn’t know too much about King. It was really sad, because people rioted downtown and National Guards patrolled and set us a curfew... but we slipped out. Some people cried... you couldn’t he had been killed.
Describe your night after King was shot? Where were you that night? What was the city like?
That’s all everyone was talking about. We weren’t allowed to go outside that night; it was just a sad night. Memphis was a sad, dark nightmare. The people were so hurt and just couldn’t believe it.
What did you think of King before and after his death?
Well, he was trying to help the black people get their equal rights. He was a good man. He really tried to make sure everyone was treated equally, color didn’t matter. I thought more of him after he died, cause he died trying to gain rights for people.
Did life change at all after his death? Did people act different or view problems differently? Do you think people’s attitudes changed?
Yeah it changed, because people were rioting. We never had National Guards patrolling your neighborhood. After 6:00, if you were caught outside you went to jail. People acted differently for a while until everything calmed down. Well yeah, attitudes were going to change... of course.
Is there anything else about that time in your life we haven’t discussed that you’d like to add?
No I think we covered everything.