Mr. S. lived in Whitehaven and only white liven in Whitehaven during the 60s. . He was only in the 9th grade when Dr.King was assassinated. He remembered they closed down school because of the assassination. It was complete chaos. He couldn't remember if he was 15 or 16 when it happened. He remembers images and sound of people screaming and those cried. A lot of people that were sad and were on the scene when it happened.
Read MoreJoAnn D. by William D., St. Agnes - St. Dominic
In the 1960s, JoAnn D. moved from her home on a farm near Crawfordsville, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee. She lived in a beautiful and peaceful neighborhood called Whitehaven. Memphis is world famous because of Elvis Presley, he also lived in Whitehaven.His home is known as Graceland, and JoAnn lived nearby. Like most other young women in Memphis, she was a huge fan of Elvis. She had even kissed him once. However, Elvis was not her true love. She had recently met and married her husband, Tommy D., who grew up in Memphis.
Read MoreBarbara P. by Mark F., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Mark: Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960’s?
Barbara: I was 16 years old and I lived in Whitehaven, and it was a very scary time because there was a lot of racial unrest and obviously when Martin Luther King was shot it was an extremely bad time. There were protesters and riots in the streets and I just remember particularly myself at 16 years old I don’t think I really realized the severity of the situation and like most 16 year olds I was pretty self-absorbed and I had just gotten my drivers licence and my mother would not let me take the car out to go driving because of everything going on in the city when Martin Luther King was shot. And of course I was really upset, but looking back now I can definitely understand why my parents wouldn’t let me go out at night during that time.
Read MoreSam L. by Michael P., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the
1960s?
“I lived in the suburban Whitehaven. It was wonderful. I was sixteen years old. I was going to high school. I was involved in debate and the theater and we put on a playgroup. In fact we were rehearsing a play the night Martin Luther King got killed.”
Read MoreMr. M. by Jonathan M., Harding Academy
In 1968, my father was nine years old living in Whitehaven in Memphis, Tennessee. Life for my father was very nice and quiet living in Whitehaven. Most of the families living in his neighborhood were very close knit and mostly knew everyone in the neighborhood. Crime was low and as children, my father was able to play outside and ride their bikes anywhere without having to worry about crime. During his childhood, my father attended a private school and also played sports. My father remembers eating dinner with his family and hearing the TV in the background that MLK had been assassinated. So they stopped eating and went to listen to the TV.
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 MoreBilly C. by Nathan G., Margolin Hebrew Academy-Cooper Yeshiva School
Where did you live? What was it like? What stands out about living in Memphis in the 1960s?
I Lived on Winchester and Elvis Presley blvd in the Dove Creek apartments. There were almost no black kids at home or in school. There were 1800 kids and 5 black kids from 7-12 grade.
Describe your life in 1968. What was a typical day like for you in 1968? School? Work?
Read MoreAnonymous by Jacob T., Harding Academy
It was a very quiet time in Memphis as a city. We didn't have as many things going on to disrupt the city on as we do now. I lived about 6 blocks from Elvis Presley and he was very popular at that time. He went to school where I graduated from.
The day of Dr. Martin Luther king's death I was at a store called Monteise's grocery and I was just getting back in my car after shopping for my groceries and all of a sudden everybody was running around the parking lot saying Martin Luther king has just been assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.
Read MoreBlake M. by Jerrod S., Harding Academy
"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." This is one of the great quotes of Martin Luther King Jr. King, a man of faith, is practically the definition of a natural born leader. If the people of the world could strive to live like King, in my opinion the world would be a better place.
Blake M. was just eight years old.
Read MoreBobby C. by Reid C., Harding Academy
Hello, my name is Bobby C., and I will be sharing the story of my day and night when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. In the year 1968, I was 27 years old and worked ten to twelve hours a day. Whenever I got home from work or had some free time, I would work on a home project, such as a car or home improvements. Our family lived Whitehaven, just south of downtown, near Graceland. When I was in high school, many of my friends pursued musical careers. Also, my first and only child, Collin, was to be born in a year during this time. When Dr. King was assassinated, I was taking music lessons downtown. When I left my music lesson, the streets we're completely empty: no cars or people in sight.
Read MoreFaye W. by Jake W., Harding Academy
I was a married thirty six year old with one child, a two year old boy. We lived in Whitehaven, which was not officially in Memphis at the time. Whitehaven was primarily a white neighborhood unlike today. A routine day for me was just staying around the house, doing housework or looking after my son. I wasn't working at the current time due to raising a child. We were at home, listening to the radio, which was how we had heard the news of Martin Luther King Junior's assassination.
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.
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