In 1968, Sue H. was a wife, a mother of one child, and a teacher at Willow Oaks Elementary School. Her life in the Colonial Acres neighborhood was fairly simple, she woke up in the morning and took her six year old son Stephen to school with her. Once the school day was over, the two of them would head back home, she would fix dinner for the family and would always end the day by reading with Stephen. Life to her seemed very peaceful, even during the strikes and marches going on around Memphis. She first heard about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination at home on the news.
Read MoreAnne H. by Samuel J., Harding Academy
Anne H. was 27 when in 1968. She was a house wife that was raising kids during hat time. She lived in southwest Memphis and did not not know much about Dr. King before he came to Memphis. On day of the shooting, she was at home with her kids when she heard on the new that King had been killed. She did not agree with him being killed because she believes no one deserves to take another person's life.
Read MoreDoris Jean W. by Callie S., Harding Academy
On the evening of April 4, 1968, the nation changing protestor Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Through all the troubles and harshness of the night, my grandmother, Doris Jean W., remembers the night of his murder. Although she did not live in the city of Memphis and lived in Seneca Place, TN, her life and attitude was still affected by the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Read MoreJanice E. by Carmen J., Harding Academy
In the 1960's, Janice E. lived in Orange Mound in Memphis, Tennessee.
She was at her house sitting on the couch when she heard the news that King was finally pronounced dead. The year 1968, for her was a typical work day. She would go to work and come back home to raise her child. She currently works at Horn Lake Middle School and is a teachers assistant. If the racism had not have stopped, she would not be able to work there now because Mississippi was a very racist state.
Read MoreMs. Frankie, by Hadley H., Harding Academy
I chose to interview Ms. Frankie, my grandmother. She was 28 at the time and was living in Humboldt, Tennessee, just about an hour out of Memphis. She was sitting at her house watching the television at the time of the shooting. She found out when all of a sudden, the show she was watching turned to the news and wait that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated. She said that living that close to Memphis at the time made everything sad, and nothing but the shooting was on television. She got out of work the day of his funeral because she worked for the government at the Arsenal.
Read MoreMrs. Elizabeth, by Maggie C., Harding Academy
Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 Mrs. Elizabeth, 23, says Memphis was less complex than it is today. Although, there were a lot of people it was less congested than it is. She says that there was a lot to do. She had been married for about four years and her husband was a dental student. They had a child together so Elizabeth was a stay at home mom and in 1968. Her husband joined the navy and went to Vietnam. His being in the war resulted in the family moving around.
Read More
Mrs. Martha, Reed H., Harding Academy
My grandma was 28 years old. She lived in Germantown TN. Germantown was a small town to her because she was from Dallas but Germantown was growing rapidly. It wasn't a huge but she says it still had a big city atmosphere.on dog the things that she really noticed was that everybody was segregated. Most of the suburbs were white people and the inner city was generally African American.
Read MoreMrs. Betty, by Alayna M., Harding Academy
She lived on Argonne in Memphis, TN. She describes it as a nice residential neighborhood. Memphis in the 1960s was a prosperous and one of the cleanest cities in the nation. Memphis had a nice zoo and downtown section. She had a small child that was 3 years old. Her husband worked at Quaker Oats on Chelsea Avenue. She was a stay at home mom. It was a quiet, normal day and the sanitation workers were on strike. She was very shocked and surprised when she heard it on the news at home.
Read MoreMrs. Judy, by Caitlin C., Harding Academy
Mrs. Judy was 26 years old the day of the Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination. She lived in Memphis, Tennessee. She was married to Mr. Rick, and had two little boys. She said the 1960's for her were scary in sad besides her loving family. There was a lot of racial tension in Memphis. She was struggling to make a living.
Read MoreMrs. Sanders, by Gabriella M., Harding Academy
On the day of his assassination I was having my son's birthday party and my niece had gotten into a wreck so I was trying to get to the hospital but I couldn't because of curfew. In Memphis they were burning the black peoples businesses, it didn't really affect us in Southaven. Back then a typical day for me was staying at home to watch the kids, cooking, cleaning, while my husband was at work.
Read MoreMrs. Sevier, by Jada L., Harding Academy
The person I interviewed for the Martin Luther King Narrative is my grandma, Mrs. Sevier. She was 27 during the time of MLK's assassination. My grandma lived in Memphis, TN. surprisingly as I was interviewing my grandma I learned she never really experienced the harshness against black people during this time period. She did tell me she noticed all the strikes that went on. My grandma worked for a fairly nice family in Midtown doing private home work.
Read MoreMr. Kirksey, by John D., Harding Academy
My name is Mr. Kirksey and today I will be sharing my perspective of the events that happened the day MLK was killed. It was April 4 1968. I was 28 at the time. It was an exciting day, because MLK was coming to town. It was also a bit scary, because people were worried about riots starting and other bad things happening. I woke up and got ready for work. I took my regular 5 minute walk to the chemistry building at the University of Memphis. Now, Memphis was different during the nineteen sixties. In Memphis and all of America, blacks were forced to use different bathrooms, go to different schools, and sit at the back of the bus. In modern day Memphis you don't see that at all. I taught my regular classes and then went home. When I got home my son Howard asked me to play basketball. We had been playing for about thirty minutes when my wife came out and said MLK had been shot. I quickly went inside and watched the news. My opinion on MLK had always been that he was fighting for a good cause without being violent, so when I heard he was dead this made me very distraught. Throughout the night, my eyes stated glued to the tv. In response to MLK being assassinated, the city of Memphis took several measures to keep everyone safe and to catch the assassin. The University of Memphis set blockades and shut down the school. The commissioner put the city on grid lock and set a curfue. That night, there were no cars on the street. Through all this I was hoping no riots would start, that the assassin would be caught, and that the city of Memphis would come through. My opinion of MLK was the same before and after his death, I believed that he was working for a good cause in a non- violent way. A lot of blacks fighting for freedom would start riots and fights, but not MLK. MLK worked with courts to get what he wanted to achieve. After the death of MLK life changed in both big and small ways. The University of Memphis was closed for a couple of days. There were also a few people who had a change of heart after this. Even though civil rights had been passed in 1964, it took this to change a lot of people's hearts. Also, because of MLK's assassination and the civil rights act the next generation was less segregated. Unlike their parents, they would grow up with blacks going to the same school, using the same bathroom, and sitting freely on the bus just like them. I think MLK's assassination is important, because it was a turning point in the country. That's the end of my story, it's a story that I feel is very important. Even though a lot of people have a story about the day MLK died, I believe mine stands out from the rest.
Mrs. Austin, by Kelly V., Harding Academy
My name is Mrs. Austin. I was 23 years old at the time that I heard about Martin Luther King Jr. being shot. I lived in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis seemed a lot less complex and congested but still with a very large population very similar to what it is like now. There were a few thing that stood out about living in the 1960’s, such as having running water and plumbing in the houses. There was this movie theatre downtown that I always went to with my friends. I also sometimes went shopping and just relaxed.
Read MoreMrs. Gladys, by Coby H., Harding Academy
Hi, I'm Mrs. Gladys. I'm twenty years old and live in Memphis, TN. It's 1968 and everything is the same routine me. I work five days a week, then come home and fed my child. Before King got shot, everything in Memphis was good. People were nice and the streets were clean. When King got shot everything just turned upside down in Memphis. I was working the time they announced that King was shot, so when they said it the restaurant just went blank.
Read MoreMr. Rimer, by Tully D., Harding Academy
In 1968 the United States was in racial Turmoil. White people and black people lived separately, and often knew little about the daily concerns of the other. My grandfather, Mr. Rimer, lived in Whitehaven, a train track away from a black neighborhood. Black people stayed to the West of the railroad tracks and white people lived to the East of the railroad track.
Read MoreMrs. Gilliam by Wyatt S., Harding Academy
There once was a young woman on April 4, 1968 terrified and saddened. Her name was Mrs. Gilliam, she was 21 years old and already had her first child. She lived in a busy, thriving, multi-cultural community and city of North Little Rock, Arkansas. People were friendly in this town, she was a stay at home mom, and with a lot of family near by.
Read MoreMr. Chester, by Carolina O., Harding Academy
Mr. Chester was a 27 years old man when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. He lived in a duplex on a street named Allendale in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr. Chester was a chorus teacher at Treadwell. His ordinary day consisted of leaving his house around seven o'clock a.m, arriving at school around seven fifteen. He had four chorus classes: two of them were high school classes and the other two were junior high classes. He also taught spelling.
Read MoreMs. Ryan, by Thomas R., Harding Academy
My grandmother could have never imagined what would happen to Martin Luther King Jr. To tell this story, we must start when she lived in a small town with no segregation. She later moved to Memphis with her family and was shocked at the signs that divided restrooms, businesses, and even water fountains into categories called "colored" and "white". She always thought those rules were unneeded.
Read MoreMs. Stevens, by Maci H., Harding Academy
I interviewed Bonnie. Her normal day was going to work at Trezavant school here in Memphis, TN and living in an apartment. Her day was changed majorly the day king was assassinated. She got off of work early because they sent the kids home from school. She was worried about her husband who worked downtown.
Read More