When Steve H. lived in Memphis in 1968, he was 20 years old and attending the University of Memphis. He had lived at several places in midtown and enjoyed the college atmosphere with many influences of music in the area. He was not a Christian at the time and was talking difficult classes at the University. Between semesters, he decided to work for an electronics company. At this point, there had been many controversies between the city workers and officers.
Read MoreSue N. by Alan L., Harding Academy
Alan : Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out living in memphis in the 1960s?
Sue : I lived in the city where there were noise everywhere I went. It was quite relaxing. The food stood out to me.
Alan : Describe your life in the 1960s. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? How was it different from today?
I was very young so a typical day for me was going to school and back. After, I would come home and play until it was time for dinner.
Flora P. by Tyler M., Harding Academy
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
I lived in West Memphis, AR, which is approximately 15 miles from Memphis, TN. During this time, African-American were still oppressed. They had made some progress in the South, but not very much. What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s was the racism that was very prevalent. African-Americans were allowed to ride in the front of the bus and attend the same movie theater as their white counterparts, but there was still a lot of disparity. If a black individual entered a department store or small boutique in the city of West Memphis, they were treated like vulture, watching and waiting for its next meal. The salesclerk would in a sly and sneaky manner watch and follow blacks through the store, while the white shoppers were left to roam throughout the store.
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 a housewife of six children. My husband was a band director at the local predominantly black high school in West Memphis, AR. All of my children were enrolled in the predominantly black elementary school two blocks from our home. My children did not encounter racial issues at school or church, but in the local grocery stores, malls and doctor’s office. Things are quite different today. However, there is still a lot of racism in the local stores and malls, but it is not as prevalent. There are subtle signs of racism throughout the city of West Memphis.
Read MoreJudy T. by Taylor S., Harding Academy
In 1968, Judy T. was twenty-five years old. She was married with two children and lived in Memphis her whole life. She was a very busy woman, working outside the home and trying to get by. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis in the beginning of April to help support the African American sanitation workers. "
Read MoreNancy J. by Sara J., Harding Academy
Nancy J. was thirty four in the year 1968. At the time,she lived on Peg Lane in East Memphis with her husband and two boys. Nancy remembers rotating in her east Memphis vicinity, oblivious to much tension in her city. She said, "I did not confront any tension personally in the area I resided in."
Read MoreBeau B. by Omer P., Harding Academy
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.
Read MoreMr. S. by Madison P., Harding Academy
I interviewed my neighbor, W. S.. Mr. S. was 30 years old in 1968, when Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. On the day of Dr.Kings death, my neighbor, a young man with three young children, was at a Boys Club Meeting in the general Midtown area of Memphis. After the announcement of King's death, he rushed home to his family, he feared for his life because he was unsure of how the streets in Memphis would be after such a life changing event.
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 MoreEarl R. by Kourtney R., Harding Academy
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.
Read MoreAnonymous by Kathleen R., Harding Academy
I am a 6 year old from Whitehaven, TN. My memory of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death is very limited, as I was sheltered from the event, I remember Whitehaven as being a nice neighborhood that resembles the now suburbs of Memphis. A lot of people had mixed emotions toward Martin Luther King Jr., but around kids, they never expressed their feelings.
Read MoreMattie T. by Joy T., Harding Academy
My name is Mattie T. and I was 45 years old during the time of Martin Luther King's assassination. I live in South Memphis on Doris Street. During that time, everything was mostly serrated. Church was a like a gathering where we got a chance to fellowship with family and friends. Beale Street stood out the most to me. It was like an entertainment place for the community. I was married and had nine children. My husband worked on the railroad at night.
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 MoreJuly C. by Grace B., Harding Academy
July Chester was twenty-five years old in the year 1968. She lived in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, July would describe Memphis as a "big small town," sort of resembling a larger Paragould. There was racial tension in Memphis, but July didn't really notice it much. The public schools were segregated. July was teaching fourth grade at Harding Academy. When July heard of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, she was frightened.
Read MoreChesteen C. by Deja C., Harding Academy
In April of 1968, my grandmother and interviewee Chesteen C. was a seventeen year old teenager living in a small neighborhood in Memphis, TN. That small neighborhood was Binghamton, which at that time was a poorer neighborhood for blacks. Binghamton was a quiet, peaceful neighborhood where every one knew every one, they watched out for one another, and they all had a mutual respect for one another.
Read MoreAnonymous by Christopher G., Harding Academy
In 1968, I was a young mother of a 7 year old, happily married and living in a small house in south east memphis, and worked in a bank. Life was quiet, and much slower than today. Our son was in elementary school at Harding Academy, and we were a normal happy family.
Read MoreFred by Caroline D., Harding Academy
Fred was a 38 year old auditor living in Memphis, TN in 1968. He remembers a time of financial difficulties and trying Civil Rights times. Fred believes that there are many business, social, and religious differences. In 1968, Fred remembers a lot of tension between prejudiced people that threatened to become violent. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Fred was sitting at his desk at work.
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 MoreMary Louise S. by Tyler H., Harding Academy
Mary Louise S. was 30 years old on the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. She was at the barber shop after work when she heard the news of Dr. King's assassination. She went home immediately after her hair cut was finished. Her husband, Don, was worriedly awaiting her arrival as he heard the news of riots in Memphis. They locked the doors and stayed at home the rest of the night.
Read MoreLarry B. by Skylar O., Harding Academy
The person I interviewed did not really have a lot to say on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He said that at the time he lived in the suburbs of Memphis. He said that it wasn't much different for teens then than it is today. He went to school everyday and hung out with friends just like we do now.
Read MoreAnne S. by October W., Harding Academy
During this time Anne S. was surrounded by racism because during this time white people and black people did not get along at all. Martin Luther King Jr. was a light in a dark tunnel throughout the point of racism in 1968. Anne lived on a farm and was in her senior year high school and the night that MLK was assassinated it changed racism forever. Many people liked what MLK was doing but others weren't so appreciative and one of those people killed him. Racism began to decrease after MLK was killed because he made such a difference that even when he was dead things began to change.
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