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 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 MoreKenneth W. by Madelyn A., Cordova Middle
During the assassination, I was 26, and living in Frayser. During that time, it was horrible, and there was a lot of turmoil. Living in Memphis, had a lot of racism, and unequal rights. In 1968, I was working at Firestone. I was in management training, I did overtime. I went to Memphis State for 2 and 1/2 years. I also did night school for 1 and 1/2 years. It is different from today, because there is still a lot of unsettled things.
Read MoreForrest H. by Sydney G., Cordova Middle
The person I interviewed was Forrest K. H. This man was a police officer on the streets of Memphis on the day of the assassination. Mr. Forrest lived 2410 Nunnelee, 38127 (Frayser). He was happily married with two children, one in the way. "Mostly everyone respected (feared) and obeyed the police. I say it's changed 100 percent, people have much less respect for the police and have become very rebellious. Crimes were much rarer and less violent, but it seems like there are murders every day in the modern world," says Forrest. At this time, Forrest H. was a lieutenant on the Memphis Police Force, often just at the station taking cakes or doing street patrols, working on the 3-11 shift. This year, however was a but more different than any other year he had ever had.
Read MoreElizabeth E. by Melissa K., Harding Academy
In the year of 1968, Elizabeth E. was eight years old. She was a bright little girl with brown hair and hazel eyes. Elizabeth had two brothers and one sister: Danny, David, and Janie. They all lived together with their Mother and Father in a cute little house in Frasier. As a child, Elizabeth loved her neighborhood. She remembers at least one child living in every house on the street. There were parks at every corner with police men at every one.
Read MoreSam P. by Carter H., Harding Academy
Sam P. was 17 when Martin Luther King was shot. He lived in Fraser, Memphis which was predominately a blue collar town with a lot of middle class. There wasn't much racial tension as long as you worked hard and were a good person. He was a normal teenager at the time who went to school and then immediately to work. He worked hard at his family owned business and was an integral part of the company. After work he would go and hang out with his friends until about 10 to 11 at night. One day on his way to work he heard that Martin Luther King had been shot.
Read MorePatricia M. by Zach M., Harding Academy
For this project I interviewed my grandmother, Patricia M. During the time around the assassination she was a 33 year old mother who lived in scenic hills. An ideal family location with a strong, interconnected community. Coming from rural Mississippi, she was thrilled to live in a suburban area outside of the big city. Unlike today, strong social neighborhoods were common. Where people knew most people in their community if not everyone. Life for her was in accordance with social expectancies of the time.
Read MoreThomas P. by Kendall F., Harding Academy
The name of my interviewee is Thomas P. In 1968, Thomas was a young fireman of Frasier at the age of thirty-two at the time that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. As a side job, he was a meat cutter. He said the period of unrest first started when the garbage truck strike started. Many people blew it way our of proportion and quickly took sides. The day that King was assassinated, Thomas said his day was pretty normal but that people were still in a state of unrest, prejudice, and segregation. But, he still believes that this type of attitude is still occurring in today's society.
Read MoreLewis B. by Ian F., Harding Academy
In Memphis during the civil rights movement in the 1960s segregation and prejudice was a way of life. Tension between white and black people were at a all time high and even though they lived separately something was bound to happen eventually. When Martin Luther King came to Memphis, he came to fight for the sanitation workers. The black sanitation workers weren't getting equal pay and they weren't working in good conditions. King was peacefully protesting this by putting the sanitation workers on a strike until they received better benefits. Lewis B., who was working for the Uniside company,
Read MorePolly B. by Cole B., Harding Academy
My grandmother, Polly B., was 31 and lived at 2284 Tim Tam Memphis 38127 (Frayser) in 1968 when Martin Luther King was killed. She said life back in the 60's was peaceful. She lived on a street where everyone knew each other and were very friendly to each other. She said the children played all over the neighborhood with other children and walked to school with their friends. The parents worked together in the school with the teachers and everyone felt like a community that belonged to each other and they all took pride in their community.
Read MoreDot A. by Brittain L., Harding Academy
I lived in Memphis in the 1960s. My family lived in the same home that I live in now. It's a small house in Frayser. The area was somewhat poor, but it was fine for my situation. However, I did feel unsafe very often. Memphis was obviously very segregated during this time, and the tensions were high in the city.
Read MoreMr. Taylor, by Tyler P., Harding Academy
I grew up in Frayser, Memphis. The Frayser area was built for the industries in that area. Needless to say, neighborhood was full of hard working people. Everyone in my neighborhood got along very well. I also remember Memphis being voted the cleanest city in America. I had a great childhood growing up in Memphis. My mom stayed home with me and my three siblings. My dad worked at the local Kumko plant for 26 years. One major difference today is that people don't keep jobs long term like my dad did. We kids would play in the woods behind our house and rode our bikes around until it got dark. There were no worries of crime, even though it was there. The crime was still present in Memphis, but it wasn't as bad as it is now.
Read MoreMr. Braden, by Luke H., Harding Academy
My grandfather, Mr. Braden, was 24 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. He lived in Frayser, TN. When he heard the news that the King was assassinated he was at work. He worked at Roadway Express, that's a trucking business were they would deliver goods through out the city of Memphis. He saw on the news that he was shot. When he figured it out that he was shot he wanted to go straight home. Later that night they started burning building and the national guard came in. He thought that the city was going to completely burn.
Read MoreMr. Music, by Preston F., Harding Academy
The person I interviewed was my neighbor, Mr. Music. He was an investigator for the police in Memphis during the assassination of Martin Luther King junior. He was 33 years old during this horrible attack on King. He lived in Frasier in 1960's. He was at his home after a busy day at work when he came home and his daughter told him the news. He immediately put his jacket back on and went straight to his office and began gathering information and answering phone calls from all over the world to find out what happened.
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.
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