Valarie C. was a ten year old girl when Martin Luther King Jr. died. She lived in the Clayborn Homes Projects. It was a closed living community. Everyone helped each other in the 1960s. Valarie enjoyed that everyone was nice. Then the day Martin Luther King Jr. died, everyone was sad and angry. It was chaos.
Read MorePatricia E. by Rachel H., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
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.
Read MoreNatha D. by Katilyn W., Craigmont High School
Age in 1968: 16
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
“Well I actually lived in Memphis at the time, specifically on 7th street. At time it wasn’t much crime, more of a laid back city. However, something that stood out about living in Memphis in the 1960s was the whole MLK movement, the peaceful protests and boycotts... A lot of people protest for what they believed in at the time by the influence of Martin Luther King. “
Describe your life in 1968. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? School? Work? How was it different from today?
Read MoreDollie A. by Danniyel M., Craigmont High School
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
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 MoreAl T. by Rebecca B., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Mr. Al Thomas lived on Shady Grove Road in Memphis,TN during the 1960’s, when Dr. Martin Luther King got assassinated. There was a lot of racism and discrimination during this time period. This period of time, The Civil Rights Movement, was a time where whites were treated much better than blacks. The black community had no respect and very little rights.
“It was a regular Memphis day and I was downtown carrying along with life.
Read MoreMayer E. by Evan R., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Mayer Eisman was born and raised in Memphis Tennessee. He saw first hand the racial tensions and the direct aftermath of Martin Luther King J.R. assassination. King, was in Memphis to support the African American garbage men’s protest for equal pay and benefit, when he was gunned down by James Earl Ray.
Where did you live? What was it like? What stand out about living in Memphis in the 1960’s?
“I was born, raised, and still live in Memphis. During the 1960’s the economy was booming and most people had jobs at that time.
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 MoreLarry P. by Mackenzie C., Harding Academy
Larry P. was a 28 year old truck driver living in Southaven, MS in 1968. Larry happened to be in Downtown Memphis when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. He remembered hearing all of the sirens and being given a curfew and was told to stay off the streets. In the weeks following the shooting, he remembers there being much sadness from everyone and he was afraid of what might would happen to him. He also said that the racial relations were actually better back then than they currently are today.
Read MoreDarrell J. by John S., Harding Academy
As I awoke on the morning of April 4, 1968, everything in my life was going well. I had a good job working at JC Penny's in the jewelry department, I had a beautiful wife and three kids, and the day was starting like any other, however this was the day that Memphis would forever be changed. As I sat eating lunch in the Sterick building in downtown Memphis I heard that Martin Luther King Jr. Had been assassinated.
Read MoreMaxwell P. by Bobby B., Harding Academy
Maxwell P. moved to Memphis in 1967 at age 10 for his dad's work in the government. He lived in a high rise apartment in downtown Memphis and lived at home with his mom and sister while his dad was always at work. He was homeschooled by his mom because he never knew when his dad may have to change jobs and transfer. In the morning he generally worked with his sister on schoolwork then he and his sister and mother went walking downtown to look at the parks and river.
Read MoreJames A. by Niven D., Cordova Middle
My interview went well speaking to my close family friend. He was born in 1955 and he is 59 years old at this current time. His name is James A., James was only 13 old around the time of Kings death. James was only 5 or 7 blocks away from where the tragedy happened.
Read MoreMabel H. by Amanda B., Cordova Middle
"The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death by an assassin late today." I heard on the TV. My whole world stopped. "Mabel! Did you hear about MLK gettin' killed?!" my roommate asked bursting through the door. "Yeah" I answered. My name is Mabel H. I was 23 years old and in college at TSU on Nashville. I lived in Memphis before I went to college and I lived in Cleaborn Homes also known as the projects. Before I left, we still lived under serious segregation until Martin Luther King Jr. came into the picture. It's still in the process of sinking in that he's gone. It's a shame and a tragedy that he lost his life trying to help sanitation workers get better working conditions. He was a great person along with a great speaker.
Read MoreMargaret H. by Alan P., Cordova Middle
Times have changed since the 1960s. In Memphis during that time period, many significant event had obviously taken place to form the society Americans live in today. Martin Luther King Jr. had spent a considerable amount of time giving speeches and giving people a view of what was happening in the nation. His assassination caused major rebellions and riots in downtown Memphis. However, more importantly, people had gained the courage to start speaking up and taking action on the topic of civil rights after the death.
Read MoreMrs. Howarth, by Jamie E., Harding Academy
For this project, I interviewed Mrs. Howarth, my grandma. She was 24 at the time of the assassination. This is how it happened. Memphis was a great place to live in the 1960's. It was very clean. Downtown was really nice. A normal day for her would go like this. She would wake up and go to work for Dr. Dirmeyer. She loved her job. On the weekends, she would either go to Shelby Farms or the river. Then, she would go home.
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