Where were you on the night MLK died?
Forty-three years ago this evening, I was inside the College Park High School auditorium, where the students of nearby Lakeshore High School had just put on a talent show dubbed “April Follies.”
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (right), two years before his death, talking with Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen (center) and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. New York Times.
I had tagged along with my two older sisters – I was going on 13, in 7th grade. The show was over – perhaps it was as late as 8:30 — and everyone had just stood up.
You literally could see the news waft row-by-row through the mostly white crowd: “Martin Luther King’s been shot. They say he’s dead.”
We were an evening-paper family – the Atlanta Journal sported Art Buchwald and his political humor — and the six o’clock news was over. So we wouldn’t get the details until late the next day, after school. A Thursday.
Classes were at Meadows Elementary, which is still just off Old National Highway – though it’s a storage center of some sort now. The next morning must have been cold, because we boys were sitting on top of the heaters that lined the classroom windows, waiting for the bell to ring.
Fulton County schools had been integrated, but just barely. I don’t recall that any black students attended the school, but we had just gotten our first African-American teacher, a Mrs. Betsy Phillips. Martha Pendley was our lead teacher. She is still sharp, and may have a better memory for the specifics.
Atop the row of heaters, my friend Dennis was the first to speak about King. “My daddy says he’s going to be the head n—— devil in hell,” the young boy said. It was a remark aimed at me, since I was one of the few known Yankees in the class. I tended to walk away from confrontations, even back then.
Darrell walked away with me. Possibly the bell had just rung. Darrell was a hood in the making. He hadn’t made the complete transition to the white T-shirt, leather jacket and blue jeans that would be his uniform in high school. But he was coming on.
“I don’t know why they had to shoot him,” Darrell said, in search of someone who agreed with him. “He never did anybody any harm.”
I have not heard from Darrell in decades. At some point, he dropped the leather jacket and had become a pastor himself, like King. Strange how that works.
If you’re of an age to remember, add a few lines down below — for posterity’s sake.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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91 comments Add your comment
ed
April 4th, 2011
9:51 pm
trish,
your daddy left out the part about your kinfolk wearing white sheets and burning a cross in glee.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
9:52 pm
@powder springs..
I do remember where I was on 9/11..I was sitting in the family room home from school to go to the orthodontist, 8:46 am the first plane hit, 9:03 the second plane hit..then 9:37 the pentagon is hit. I kept thinking, dad, how are they gonna tear down these burned out buildings in the middle of manhattan after the fire is out..then they collapsed. I knew we were going to war, and I wanted blood..I remember the muslims dancing that day. yeah..
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
9:53 pm
ed, the only reason to burn a cross if if someone you hate is already nailed to it..get a life
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
9:55 pm
Although, ed, since offending the thin skinned is one of the GREAT joys of life, in HS I used to remind people that when they get the monday after Jan 15th off school, James Earl Ray was the reason for the season.
Native Atlantan2
April 4th, 2011
10:02 pm
Oh…so after Trisha throws mud all over MLK’s legacy she decides she’s “intrigued”. I continue to be intrigued Trisha by the vitriolic comments you make daily across the various AJC blogs. It was a simple question posed by our host and you couldn’t even bring yourself to display a minimal amount of respect. It’s not the progressives, or parasites as you frequently call them, driving this country into the toilet — it’s the self-absorbed conservatives like you.
@Mr Liberty
April 4th, 2011
10:03 pm
Yeah, and we need to wear our tinfoil hats. Watch out- here come the aliens!
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
10:05 pm
native, yep I was intrigued.
re: Native Atlantan
April 4th, 2011
10:05 pm
Hey- all of us conservatives aren’t bad!
mike
April 4th, 2011
10:09 pm
Don’t you just love all the hate being posted here today. No matter what the situation there will always be those good white folks with those good ideas how black folks should be. I am so glad they post their knowledge on here. I always enjoy reading the comments to the kids so they can understand why white folks are the way they are. I guess their hate is just a natural part of their everyday existence. Pretty sad though.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
10:11 pm
ima gonna eat this pigs foot in honor of my racist kin long live the klan and god bless my racist daddy
Native Atlantan2
April 4th, 2011
10:14 pm
Agreed — not all conservatives are bad. As for Trisha…there is certainly much more she should be intrigued about given her limited view of reality.
ed
April 4th, 2011
10:15 pm
mike,
i concur. i don’t want to make excuses for a history of ignorance within certain family genealogy, but for trish it’s obviously nurture vs. nature…
mecq
April 4th, 2011
10:16 pm
I remember vivdly the day Dr.King was killed. JFK, and RFK as well. I was raised to be politicallly aware of to always giveback to my community. I was one of 5children to integrate the schools of Madison County Florida in 1965.My parents were very involved in the struggle and the Churches in our community hosted numerous walkins/marches, etc. When i see how our community has eroded to it’s current status it saddens me; because I remember the struggle. I bear the scars of racism that will probably never go away. We were 5little African-American girls. But we broke the mold.!!!! And Madison County was never the same. We fought in the streets that day(when Dr King was killed) and many more to come. If truth be told we’re still floundering from the lost of our Leader. Instead of our community standing together to accomplish soething we’ve bought into the hype of the media. Thus instead of our advesaried destroying our community we’re doing that on our own. Everyday, AJC front page, tells of lack of respect we have for ourselves, each other, and the community as a whole. Know from whence you came, to prepare a positive. I’m not so sure that integration was the answer because i recieved a much much better education when were were being taught by our own people. They were determined to educate us so that we would not live in ignorance. Now, our youth, don’t have a chance to grow. They’re incarcerated and enslaved before they even reach the age of maturation. Remember those that came before you. Remember their sacrifices and never deminish their importance in your struggle.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
10:16 pm
ah name cloning losers strike this blog too
Native Atlantan2
April 4th, 2011
10:18 pm
I’ll give u credit Trisha..the 10:11 post certainly didn’t sound like you.
To Mike
April 4th, 2011
10:22 pm
Mike- Sorry to surprise you, but all white folks aren’t haters. I suggest you stay away from stereotypes. My guess is that you probably don’t like the young black male sterotype.
Bottom line is that there are good and bad people in every group. Mine, yours, and theirs.
TrishaDishaWar Eagle
April 4th, 2011
10:23 pm
Mmmmm….. I’m moist
TrishaDishaWar Eagle
April 4th, 2011
10:28 pm
Where’s my cuzin at? I’m a-itchin fer him.
mecq
April 4th, 2011
10:31 pm
Trish……You’re a coward just like the rest of your family. Come from behind that sheet and be a real woman. My African American Father taught me tha no man was free in America unless he/she was armed. In view of that he taught me to use a weapon at a very young age. Thankfully I inherited his marksmanship ability and was/am never affraid to defend myself. My father was a real MAN. If he had a beef with a man..be they Black or White, he confronted them like a man. He did not hide behind a sheet during his confrontations. There was not a White Man in the County that would cross my African American Father because he never missed when he aimed.He was ledgendary. He, also, taught us all his skills. So your pork-feet eating ignorant racist self should come out in the open; let’s see how far into the ATL you’ll get. Go on YouTube and post your rant. Let the world know your views and see your face. I’m going to be looking out for you “TrishaDishaWarEagle”.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
10:41 pm
mecq, so you admit the ATL is much like a black jungle where whites are preyed upon? BTW I am vegetarian, I would never eat a pigs foot..the name cloner who said that was likely one of yours..black. I never wear a sheet, but if you intend to shoot me, you had best not miss.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 4th, 2011
10:43 pm
Three words for blacklantans who think whitey is their main problem.. Wayne Bertram Williams
Dixie Cybill Presley
April 4th, 2011
11:09 pm
I was 4 years old and was out with the family. We had finished some shopping and were sitting in a Kentucky Fried Chicken having dinner on Danny Thomas Blvd./Hwy 51 in the Frayser portion of Memphis. A police officer came in and told us that Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot and killed and we had better head home for our safety as riots were breaking out.
Being from Memphis you tend to remember exactly where you were when you hear the news of the deaths of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Elvis.
Marietta Mary
April 4th, 2011
11:25 pm
It was the day after my 21st birthday. Then came RFK. Not the best senior year.
flower power
April 4th, 2011
11:42 pm
My mom took me and my siblings to Church for MLK, JFK, and RFK. To young to understand hatred. Church didn’t mean much to me, comfort to my mom. I understood her need for a place to weep when Lennon was judged by the hate. I went to a gay bar for comfort.
Deric
April 5th, 2011
12:18 am
I was 13, living in Kansas at a military base, Ft. Riley, my father was a proud soldier who had served as a guinea pig intergrating his unit on his first two to Korea (later served two tours in Nam). He was also subject to the nuclear testing in the Yucca Flats out west.
Yet he loved his country and I never heard him speak a racist or derogatory word about anyone, even if they sought to oppress and denigrate him.
That evening, as my mother, who was clearly angry, my sister and I sat in silence watching the news for cut-ins about what had happened in Memphis.
For the first time in my life, I watched in shock as silent tears streamed down my fathers face.
mecq
April 5th, 2011
12:48 am
Again Trish…there is no accounting for ignorance. I don’t believe that The ATL is a Black Jungle and I certainly don’t agree with you on any of that ignorant garbage you’re sprewing. A vegan….yeah right you’re too stupid and country. I’m African American. I know my a lineage. What’s your’s.???? And if you/or your kinfolks take the sheets off and I feel the nessesity to take aim I won’t miss..!!!! It’s in my blood to never leave a threat unanswered. I’m protected by the laws that state I have a right to defend myself with force when threatened. Are you threatning me..????
mecq
April 5th, 2011
12:51 am
Oh and by the way Trish…when whitey thinks of terrorism and 911 please don’t forget the original terrorist..!!! Timothy McVeigh!!!!!! Another coward..!!!!
Lt. Dan
April 5th, 2011
7:51 am
These were all periods in time which, frozen in the memory banks of many, helped to mold us, both individually and as members of a generation which transitioned from the innocence of 50s era Beaver and Howdy Doody, through the turmoil of National leaders slain, our youthful “knees skined” by the cruelty of war, and National pride in conquoring the frontiers of space. Though we neither realized nor appreciated the fact that we were leading the Country in directions unimagined, we, nonetheless, prevailed. In our own little ways, we created a Country which, despite the warts, still endures as the greatest Country on the face of the Earth. Those among us who persist in magnifying those warts will surely fade into oblivian; we can piss and moan/bitch and complain over the “relative unfairness” to which we bear witness daily, but one thing will always ring true…WE WERE THERE…WE SURVIVED, PREVAILED, AND GREW.
The Centrist
April 5th, 2011
8:33 am
I was a freshman in college here in Atlanta. First it was shock and the tone shifted to anger. Here was a man who promoted peace, but died a violent death. My dorm mates debated whether we needed to be calm and follow King’s lead or follow the forces that did not agree with turning the other cheek. One classmate said there was nothing dumber on earth than a scared person and nothing more fearless than a revengeful one. The next day, we decided to follow King’s lead and peacefully go forth and challenge the system of race, class, and gender discrimination.
FactChecker
April 5th, 2011
8:35 am
We were on our way from Tennessee to South Carolina to see my grandmother. My mom was driving and had the four of us kids in the Plymouth station wagon. My dad was in Viet Nam. It was an awful rainy night in Atlanta and we decided to spend the night at a friend’s in Fort Mac rather than continue in the storm. We got lost and pulled off at Techwood to ask directions. An elderly black man told us Dr King had been shot and it was not safe for us to be in the ghetto. He got in his car and had us follow him to Ft Mac. I was only ten but remember his concern and kindness to a lost white women and her four children. Caring for our fellow man transends all race.
BTW- Ignore Trish- based on what she says, “she’s” probably a 13 year old boy just trying to be provocative and starved for attention. Giving credence to what “she” says only prolongs the game.
The Centrist
April 5th, 2011
8:39 am
While some banter about Black ministers Sharpton and Jackson, and what they did or did not do in following King. They fail to talk about those who certainly took one of King’s actions to a whole different level such as Marvin Gorman, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, John Paulk, Paul Crouch, Ted Haggard, Paul Barnes, Lonnie Latham, Earl Paulk, Coy Privette, Joe Barron, Tony Alamo, and George Alan Rekers.
joe
April 5th, 2011
8:52 am
Wasn’t born yet…ha ha…youth.
Orange&Blue
April 5th, 2011
9:07 am
From the bigot, Christinazi TrishaDisha “BTW I am vegetarian”
I’ve never know of a fascist vegetarian. Wow.
COMMON SENSE CITIZEN
April 5th, 2011
9:35 am
I was awakened from sleep in my bunk at Torrejon Air Base, Spain by the commotion and noise in the hallway in the barracks. There stood in the middle of the hallway a close friend who was born & raised in Atlanta, screaming at the top of his voice that Martin Luther King, Jr had been shot and killed. Within the next very tense couple of hours, the base siren blew which meant everyone was to report to their duty station. The base population was very tense as several fights had broked out and property had been damaged by a few very emotional people. Unit commanders immediately advised everyone to calm down and focus on their assigned duties. I grew up in a rural area about 30 miles north of Montgomery and had attended Dr. King’s church when I was in my early teens; I was 24 at the time and eventually I went to my room and cried.
Douglas
April 5th, 2011
10:33 am
I was seven, and the mood at our house was just as dark as pitch. My mom and dad were on the forefront of civil rights in Atlanta’s white community — they had known Dr. King personally, and they took this personally, too.
I am glad that the serious posts outnumber the trivial, vitriolic ones today. Seriously, if you are going to hate someone, do it because, as Dr. King said, the “content of their character.” Unfortunately, there are a number of people posting today who character does not measure up at all.
Douglas
April 5th, 2011
10:37 am
Trisha, I’ve always pretty much figured you were misguided, but hearing that you are a vegitarian seals it. Bless your heart.
A Conservative Voice
April 5th, 2011
11:54 am
What????He died????Why didn’t someone tell me?????
pb
April 5th, 2011
12:08 pm
I was 13 years old in a Sears store in Laurel, MS. My friends and and I were looking at stuff in the store, when someone said King had been killed. I remember the clerk saying,” I hope he took his Peace Rrize with him.” I was too young to be mad, but knew that was the wrong thing to say. But sadly, that was the feeling of many in the South back then.
pb
April 5th, 2011
12:10 pm
Sorry, that was supposed to be Peace Prize, not Rrize.
LMAO
April 5th, 2011
1:19 pm
4 years old living on Parkway Drive a few miles down from Ebenezer Baptist Church. Don’t remember the exact moment but later I do remember seeing the funeral cortage going down Auburn Avenue from the back seat of Mr. White’s Chevrolet Impala.
Jim if you attended Lakeshore then you are part of the Westwood, Lakeshore and Westlake Family!!
Former Memphian
April 6th, 2011
8:55 am
I was also living in Memphis at the time, a freshman in college. Tension had been building there for weeks, due to the garbage workers’ strike. There was a ferocious storm that came through town the night of April 3rd, spawning several tornadoes in the area. The next day, our afternoon classes were cut short (for fear of rioting connected with the scheduled march downtown), and I went home earlier than usual.
We got the sad news first from our local broadcasters and then again from the national networks. Spring break was moved up to start immediately following the shooting, many other schools closed too. The religious and political leaders joined together to hold a 100 days of prayer for our community.