Elan C.: Where did you live at the time of the shooting?
Debbi C.: I lived in East Memphis at the time.
EC: Describe your life in 1968. How was it different from today?
DC: Back then, I was in school, so it was really a different situation back then than it is for me today. I currently live in Jerusalem, Israel, and work as a photographer.

When Katherine was growing up in the 60s, Elvis was very popular. Katherine and all of her friends were crazy about him around this time. Other than Elvis Presley there were two other major things that stood out in the 60s. Those two things were integration and Martin Luther Kings assassination. Integration came about in 1964 and it was huge. It was crazy to see all of the different reactions. Some people were absolutely on board while others were not happy about it at all. Katherine absolutely loved the idea of us all trying to treat others as equals. She says that she never quite understood why she couldn't be friends with someone just because they weren't the same skin color as her. She says that although her parents weren't exactly racist they weren't very open about how they felt towards African Americans either. 

Mr. Robert H. was seventeen years old the day that Martin Luther King Junior died. That day was like any other day. He woke up and went to school. Usually he would go to the diner or drive-in with his friends after school, but this day, he was going on a date. Robert was on a date with his girlfriend when he remembers seeing riots outside of the diner. Like most everyone else, he did not leave the diner until he saw police arrive. Robert took his girlfriend and they ran outside to his car. 

In 1968, Elizabeth L. was a sixteen year girl who lived in Memphis, TN. Elizabeth L. describes living in Memphis during the 1960's as a good life. She likes the music in Memphis during that time and clearly remembers dancing along the streets with her friends downtown. A typical day in the 1960's for Elizabeth would have been raising her young two children and getting up to go to work. She was not in school because she had to raise her children.

Beau B. was 14 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was an ordinary child who spent most of his days outside playing its his friends. But the day of Martin Luther Kings assassination was a little different, Beau stayed inside when his mom told him of what unfolded. They were afraid of riots and had their guns at the ready. Beau did not sleep that night because he could not sleep.

My dad, Earl R. said that Memphis in 1968 from a teenager's point of view, was a good place to live. It had low crime and fast cars. Most teenagers were not aware of the treatment the city government gave to the black sanitation employees. He feels like most of his friends would not have approved of such treatment. He and his friends did not become aware of those practices until the garbage strike. That treatment made him change how he felt about his city's government. His life in 1968 was pretty much carefree. All he cared about was getting out of high school and going into the Marine Corps. Today his life is typical of any parent's.