I interviewed my neighbor, Melissa D. Hesitant at first, Mrs. D. later agreed to sit down for an interview. Melissa was 6 at the time of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. As a result, she vaguely remembers what occurred at the time but upon reflection and wide reports on the news she can explain in detail of what happened on that fateful day.
Read MoreAnonymous by Peter Z., Harding Academy
At the night when Martin Luther King was assassinated, I had no idea what did it mean to the American Society and even to the world. I was fifteen that year and was a freshman at Memphis Harding Academy. Before my Junior year, I had never had or communicated with black people.
Read MoreTom C. by Nolan F., Harding Academy
I interviewed my grandfather, Tom C., who was a part of the Shelby County Sheriffs department. He lived in Bartlett at the time and he said that at the time, the city very clean and nothing like it is now. He also said there was not near as many crimes. In 1968 Tom was working in the Shelby County jail. He said it was much different from today in Memphis because there is much more crime and race problems.
Read MoreSarah P. by Michael E., Harding Academy
Sarah P., my grandmother, lived in Memphis, Tennessee during 1968. She remembers that while working for the telephone company and having two kids to take care of by getting them to school and going home to prepare meals, that there was a sense of racial tension that was present in Memphis. She says that Memphis was different back in 1968 because the city was not as busy due to the lack of all the technologies that we have today
Read MoreClaude Isaiah J. by Lily N., Harding Academy
Mr. Claude Isaiah J. was thirty years old in 1968. He started working for the Tennessee Bureau Investigation (TBI) as a field agent in 1965. Before working for the TBI, Mr. J. worked for the Highway Patrol for eight years. He had his first job working at a local drugstore when he was nine years old, because he had to support his family. He said his hard childhood made him the man he is today. Being the first black officer at the time, he had to fight through segregation and discrimination.
Read MoreElizabeth L. by Kristen H., Harding Academy
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.
Read MoreSteven M. by Kayla A., Harding Academy
In 1968, Steven M. was a twelve year old living on Cherry Road, in a white, middle class neighborhood. He recalls that there was a lot of change in society and music in the 60s. In his daily life, he walked to Colonial Jr. High School, an all white school at the time. He had no contact with African-Americans, which is different from today, when he works with many African- Americans.
Read MoreImogene J. by Jordan W., Harding Academy
Imogene J. was 40 years old on April 4, 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, she was working at the Memphis State library. She loved almost everything about her job. The one thing she did not like about working at the school library was that it was segregated. The act of segregation went against everything that her parents had taught her as a young child years prior.
Read MoreAnonymous by Jaryn D., Harding Academy
My grandmother was 18 years old when Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis, TN. It was a calm year for her considering it was her senior year. Everyday she would go to her black school with her black friends. On the weekends, she would either go to a football game or basketball game, depending on the season. Sometimes she would go downtown to the Malco, which is now known as the Orpheum, and enter through the back door to watch movies.
Read MoreBilly P. by Grace T., Harding Academy
Billy P. was born 1957, when life was a lot different. He lived in Frayser, and he still remembers the night that Martin Luther King Jr's death. He remembers it being scary because there were a lot of riots. He remembers being scared because his father was a firefighter. His father came on in that night, grabbed a gun, and left. He did not come home that night, which made Mr. Billy even more scared. He, his two brothers, his sister, and his mother all sat around the television watching the news. He remembers watching his mother sit in the recliner crying.
Read MoreAnonymous by Falon A., Harding Academy
I lived in Raleigh. We moved to Raleigh in 1959. I was 15 years old in 1968 I was a freshman at Harding Academy. Surprisingly enough, I didn't know any black people at the age of 15. My first African-American friend was Larry Carter who came to our school our junior year
Read MoreVirginia H. by Emmitt T., Harding Academy
I'm a Virginia Hall a 76 year old African American woman. I was in the south and in Memphis around the time that King was assassinated. I can vividly remember watching America fall apart. People were rioting nationwide and we were also beginning to divide as African Americans. King wanted peace and non violent protest, but his death made matters worse when it came to race relations. I am truly amazed and shocked at how far we've came as a nation. I literally cried when Barack Obama was elected, because I knew deep down that without King, none of this would have happened. King left an everlasting legacy that has changed America and the world.
Read MoreJim A. by Ellie A., Harding Academy
My grandfather was born and has lived in Memphis his entire life. Growing up, he said life was very slow because there was no technology to past the day by. He said work consumed most for his day and taking care of his four little children. My grandfather did not know much about King but he had mixed emotions when he found out he was shot. He was on his way to the grocery store when he found out.
Read MoreDorothy P. by Carissa S., Harding Academy
I lived in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1960's and was a senior at Westwood High School in 1968. Memphis was a segregated city so that white and black people had to stay separated for most things. I found out that Dr. King was coming to Memphis to organize a march for the striking Black sanitation workers. The were on strike for better work conditions and pay.
Read MorePatrick S. by Arden S., Harding Academy
I was sitting in my Boy Scouts meeting like normal. Everything seemed like it usually did; Learning new techniques about survival and such. During this time in my life, everything was much simpler. I would ride my bike to and from school, play sports all day, and then go back home for supper. One night during my Boy Scouts meeting, something changed. Everyone seemed in a bit of a panic and they all seemed sad.
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 MoreLynn G. by Laura G., Harding Academy
In 1968, Lynn G. was 24 years old. Him, his wife, and two children lived in Audubon Downs Apartments in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a large apartment complex for the 1960's. He paid seventy-nine dollars a month to live there. Living in Memphis during this time was a time of transition. It was a like this because of the separate but equal laws. African Americans had their own set of laws called the Jim Crow Laws.
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.
Read MoreJanet Bell S. by Avery E., Harding Academy
Janet Bell S. was eighteen years old on April 4, 1968, the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed here in Memphis, Tennessee. As a freshman at Memphis State University, Janet lived just south of the campus, a then safe and white neighborhood. The community existed as a close-knit, familiar haven for Janet and her neighbors.
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