I recall exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was sitting in my 4th grade class, in the afternoon when a student entered our classroom and whispered something into our teacher’s ear. She was a very strict teacher and we were almost sitting in the “attention” mode when after hearing the message, she let out a wailing “ohhhhhhhh” sound. She got up and walked out to talk to someone else. We didn’t know what was going on. In about 2-3 minutes she came back to us and said President Kennedy had been assassinated. Assassinated? I thought, just what does that mean. Something bad, I think. Then she said someone shot and killed the President. I recall her sitting at her desk, tears running down her face, staring off into nowhere and kind of rocking from side to side. It was scary. We didn’t know what to think or do. I think school was dismissed early that day and by the time I got home, mom and other ladies in the neighborhood had gathered and were glued to the TV. They were all solemn faced, a few tears. I became really sad……..because they were sad. I didn’t really understand the impact of the shooting. Over the next few days it began to sink in. I think because of seeing and hearing all the adults I came in contact with talking about what had happened. They were much less hopeful about their futures. You see, these were black families who felt they’d lost a leader who heard their cries and recognized their daily struggles in a country that did not accept them as equals. It was a very sad time for many families.
