Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 4-3-18

Feature
Residents Recall Day Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Died
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
This week, we are remem- bering the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was injured by gunfire as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, in Memphis, Tennessee. The shooting took place on a Thursday, shortly after 6 p.m., on April 4, 1968.
The Sentinel asked some readers the following ques- tion: The question of the week is, “Where were you 50 years ago, when Rev- erend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassi- nated.”
Tyrone Keys said, “I was in the
3rd grade in
Jackson, Mis-
sissippi. I re- call breaking news inter- rupting the program that Dr. King
was killed. At the time Med- ical Center was one of my favorite TV shows.
“I was wondering why a doctor would be assassi- nated. It was only after going to school the next day that Mrs. Davis, our third grade teacher, shared who Dr King was. That day, we lis- tened to his message on non- violence and service. On that day, I committed to become a Safety Patrol officer and I have been serving ever since.”
Ms. Sherna Blair Rich
meant.
“What I remember is how
the news of Dr. King’s death circulated among the grownups and how they, from my stepdad and my mother to my teachers and all the other grownups, spoke about it with great sadness and much hopelessness.
“Thinking about all that now, I believe that Dr. King’s death and all the cir- cumstances surrounding it ranks high in the process of my growth and development as a Black woman in this country and how his death helped to forge one of my first encounters of social con- sciousness and my perception of Black America: The Strug- gle.
“We are the ones who must never forget to remem- ber and we are the only ones who can teach our children that the battle, not the strug- gle, is the LORD’s that the im- mortal words of Dr. King, “How long? Not long!,” will
ever be a platform and not a sounding board to those not in favor of peace.”
Danny Green said, “I re- member it
ing of Dr. King’s brutal mur- der. In my mourning, I won- dered what would happen to his dream. Over the years, however, I have learned this truth: People die, but their dreams remain forever. Long live ‘The Dream’!”
Ms. Vivian Heyward
said, “I was at work at Kash N’ Karry on
N. 22nd
Street and
said, “At the
time of the
death of Dr.
Martin
Luther
King Jr., I
was a pre-
teen trying
my very
best to fit in
and I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel because I was too young to understand the depth of what it all
E. Hills-
borough
Avenue. A
customer
came in
and she
was crying.
I asked what was wrong and if there was anything I could do for her.
“When she told me that Dr. King was dead, she said it like it was one of her family members. We hadn’t heard the news and it just resonated through the whole store. Peo- ple just started crying. It was really a sad occasion.”
very well I
was in ele-
mentary
school.
Iwas7-
years-old.
They an-
nounced it
on the intercom in school. I really didn’t understand why someone would kill him. To me, I thought he was like the president. He was my hero at the age 7. That was a sad day and still is. God Bless his fam- ily.”
Mrs. Bonnye Crews
DANNY GREEN
TYRONE KEYS
MRS. BONNYE CREWS
MS. SHERNA BLAIR RICH
said, “As a young ele- mentary school kid, I remember being emo- tionally devastated upon hear-
MS. VIVIAN HEYWARD
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3