The King has been shot,” the television blared from the living room. I paused to make sure l heard. "Big News tonight the King has been shot!” l could not believe it. It could not be true. “Virginial" my husband yelled as he entered the house. “Did you hear the news the news?" l answered, "Yes, apparently it's the only news to be heard, every news channel is talking about it,” l said as l flipped through the rest of the channels.
Read MoreMichael B. by Genesis J., Overton High School
”Goodbye momma!" I yelled to my mother from the front door, while gathering my college textbooks and heading out to the bus stop. "Goodbye son," softly said my mom as she gathered the laundry from the room that I shared with my brothers. My dad traveled behind me to his car in an effort to make it on time to his job. During my brisk walk to the bus stop I noticed that my quiet neighborhood was full of its typical activity. Mothers were waving to their children as they skipped off to school. Fathers were arriving home from their night jobs or hurrying off to work. I glanced at my watch to estimate how much longer the bus would be. lust as I looked down the bus pulled up and I was headed to Memphis State. While I scanned over my notes for the Biology test that day I overheard people discussing the arrival of Martin Luther King and couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow had in store.
Read MoreDannie H. by Alicia G., Overton High School
In 1968 Dr. Dannie D. H. was 29 years of age. He lived on 2007 Larry Dr. He remembers curfews where he couldn't buy any beer, and timers were very hard. The things that stood out most to him about living in Memphis were that there was strength in the Black community that came from being Black and proud. A typical day for Mr. H. was delivering packages in the 38111 and 38117 areas in east Memphis.
Read MoreBo W. by Ainsley H., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
The early months of 1968 were very hectic for Officer Bo W. When the sanitation workers started the strike Officer Bo had to work 12 hour shifts, seven days a week, for two months straight. At the time he was married and had 2 kids. He missed his family a lot when he was working these extra shifts. Mr. Bo has lived in Memphis most of his life, but went to seek out more opportunities in Crown Point Indiana when he was 16. He moved back to Memphis after he graduated high school. From there he applied for and became a Memphis police officer when he was 21. He was living a great, but busy life in 1963.
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John G. by Haley A., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
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.
Read MoreGeorge B. by Maddie A., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
ving in Memphis in the l960’s was a rough time and not everyone was getting along especially blacks and whites. George B. lived in a small two bedroom apartment on Hunter Street by the airport area. Even in the l960’s the area was not the best, but overall people were much friendlier even though there was tension. It was a time where many of his friends were graduating and it was a good time to be alive. George however, was not home often and when he was he liked to stay at home with his wife, watch TV, and alive normal life. Many of the problems that seem to plague Memphis today, George did not worry about and was out often. George was expectantly and anxiously awaiting for the arrival of Martin Luther King Jr. He knew that the protest had people rallied up and Dr. King would only make them more so. Dr.King was a well respected man although George knew how much he rallied the people; George hoped the city would be ready.
Read MoreSarah M. by Jacob R., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
Life for Sarah M. in Tennessee was like everyone else back in the 1960’s. She moved to Memphis as a little girl and was strongly against racism. Back in that time when segregation was extreme, black people who came over to a white person house had to walk through the back door. Her family felt that everyone was equal, and they never made any African Americans walk through the back door. Immediately after Martin Luther King was shot the National Guard rushed to Memphis to keep the crowds from getting out of control. “A moment after the incident, the streets were filled with people standing on their porch, head hung low, and there were lots of crying people.” Sarah’s family and friends were in shock and remembered the people crying. She was listening to the radio and thought she was having a bad dream. After the incident, everything changed.
Read MoreNadine S. by Raeganne M., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
Life for Nadine S. in 1968 was simple yet busy. Everything was segregated, even up
to the water fountains. Tension was everywhere because of the sanitation Workers who were on strike. Things were so different back then; there was no social media, internet, or cellphones.
Things were a lot cheaper, too. The cost of the average house was only $1,500. The fact is that
she only made $5,000 a year. According to Nadine, “It was a lot easier. Most of the things you
could buy now, but they were so cheap! At least, a lot cheaper than today.” Working as an airport billing clerk and owning a dance studio kept Nadine very busy. She worked as a billing clerk at the Memphis International Airport from 7 :00 am. to 3:00 p.m. After that, she went to her dance studio, Nadine Vosse S.’s School of Dance, and worked until around 9:00 p.m. She says, “It was so different from today. There is not any racial divide in America anymore. All the segregation just disappeared: the Wa t e r fountains, schools, bars, nothing is separated anymore.” Typically, she worried about the war in Vietnam. Nadine’s brother, cousin, and fiancé were all fighting in that war, and she worried that they might not come back.
Cora M. by Reaunna M., Craigmont High School
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 American
Read MoreCalvin C. by Rachel B., Craigmont High School
Age in 1968: 19 years old
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960’s? Memphis TN, Typical southern town, Memphis has always been a segregated town.
Describe your life in 1968. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? School? Work? How was it different from today?
In 1968 I was a Grad from high school. It was my sophomore year at Lemoyne Owen College. A typical day was to get up and work at the broom house for two hours then go to Lemoyne Owen College. Life is different now compared to then. It has been approximately 47 years and I have retired from Kroger and am a Pastor of Oasis Church of God In Christ.
Read MoreSam H. by Alexandria W., Craigmont High School
Interviewee name: Sam H.
Age in 1968:29
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
“Haha , It depends on what you want to know. The cost of living was low and at that particular time no one was making any money. It was a poverty streaking city.”
Read MoreSam C. by Shlomo B., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
“In the years living up to the assassination I lived in Memphis then four years before I went to college in Boston. But every summer I came down to spend time with my family. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that it was harder for the Blacks to get jobs in the 60s and the selection of jobs was a lot smaller.”
Lynnie M. by Frances P., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
“I lived in Memphis for half of the 1960s. I lived on 1002 Hawthorne Street. Memphis was very musical. There was Elvis and you could take a bus to go downtown and go shopping like at Goldsmith’s. At the time it was very peaceful, like everyone knew their place. Although I did see colored bathroom signs and colored water fountain signs. The public schools were segregated and most in most neighborhoods, the Catholics and the Jews all lived close together.
Read MoreJudy U. by Meira B., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Memphis in 1968 had the reputation of being one of the cleanest cities and the quietest, it was unique it was a big town that was called a city. Really just quiet. Yes I was working at the VA hospital but I had a second job at Saint Francis, which at the time was down on Alabama street. So that was where I was at that time.
Read MoreCarol S. by Aharon M., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
Memphis TN.
It was a great place to live but there was segregation, I remember there were white entrances and black entrances to movie theaters, and blacks had to sit on the back of the bus. But they were just starting to integrate because 8 years before they had police escorting kids around because schools were being integrated. By 68 there were black students in the white university. The changes that were coming but the average person wasn't really affected the way people think. But I did see in the 60s it was the end of the area where the KKK had been really prevalent. It had been prevalent before but it had gone underground.
Read MoreGary R. by Zach R., Harding Academy
I had been living in Memphis for three years and was 27 years old. I was in the Navy and saw Memphis as a clean city where I could raise a family. The city had almost a small town feel.
Nearer to the day of the assassination, the city's population seemed divided though.A normal work day began at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m., but I tended to stay late because of the five year plan I was on with the Navy and because of my connections to the data processing and accounting departments.
Read MoreWill A. by Troy W., Harding Academy
Will A. was age 22 in 1968, he lived in East Memphis. He lived in poor neighborhood and there were a lot of blacks. He said that the sanitation was bad. He also felt there was a lot of tension in the area of memphis.
He was a barber in the nearby area, he had just finished barber school so he was anxious to get started. He said most of the customers were black and that there weren't many whites in the area. He feels that nothing has changed much today.
Read MoreNancy S. by Shelby T., Harding Academy
My grandmother, Nancy S., was 26 years old at the time of the assassination. She lived on 695 Loeb St. near the University of Memphis in an all white neighborhood. All churches and schools were segregated. Most people worked downtown and rode buses to work. Black passengers had to ride or stand in the back of the bus. Most homes employed black maids, yard workers, child caretakers, cooks, etc.
Read MoreDiana W. by Sarah C., Harding Academy
Diana W. was a typical twenty-one year old woman in the 1960s. She graduated high school in 1967 and married in that same year. Diana felt safe and happy during this time. She enjoyed going to downtown Memphis on the bus without fearing for her safety. Diana said that people were more friendly then and she had closer, more trustworthy neighbors.
Read MoreNancy R. by Drew S., Harding Academy
Nancy R. moved to Memphis just 6 months after her wedding. Nancy was 24 at the time. At the time, Memphis was top ten of the cleanest cities in the world. Her and her husband, Ian R., moved from Wheeling West Virginia to Memphis. Ian worked for a steel company, and Nancy was a homemaker. They lived in a midsize duplex, and were enjoying life. Then, Dr. King was assassinated and it all changed. Nancy said she remembered terror and racism. Ian was out of town on a business trip and had their white mustang and was coming back from the trip.
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