Back in the 1990s when I was at the Chattanooga Free Press, I had the opportunity to interview Ralph Kelley, the former mayor of Chattanooga from 1963-69.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge nearing retirement by then, he kindly looked back on his mayoral career and proudly mentioned that he had no serious racial disturbances during his time in office.
He was including the time after the unfortunate assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., too, when other cities were on fire with protests.
While black Chattanoogans and others were no doubt just as frustrated with their plight and also hurt by the death of such a visible, beloved and articulate civil rights leader, they still managed to remain mostly civil, although the situation was not perfect.
A look back at the old Chattanooga News-Free Press editions on microfilm from those days of exactly a half century ago tells the story of how it all transpired.
Dr.
King had come to Memphis during a city sanitation workers' strike to participate in the protests over poor working conditions and pay, and some in the conservative community were criticizing Dr. King's tactics.
On April 3, in a story that received apparently little attention outside Memphis, Dr. King had delivered to his supporters at the still-standing Mason Temple a speech that some later called his best ever.
In the 45-minute "Mountaintop" pep talk on a variety of topics, he concluded with a comparison between the Jewish people's journey to the Promised Land under Moses in the Old Testament to the search by black and underprivileged Americans for economic and civil equality.
Near the end, with full emotion and in a way that caused listeners' spines to tingle, he said, "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."
He knew of threats on his life, and they would unfortunately come to fruition the next day. On April 4, 1968, he was gunned down on the balcony of the modest Lorraine Motel by downtown Memphis while he and others stood outside.
The April 5 Chattanooga newspaper told the tragic news and the search for the then-unknown assassin.
Protests and riots from hurt and disillusioned blacks quickly broke out in such cities as Memphis and Nashville. But Chattanooga that first night -- a Thursday -- had only two complaints of vandalism. One of them was at Morton's Grocery at 900 E. Third St.
However, local officials did call in all off-duty policemen and firemen.
When the tragedy was still only about 18 hours old, city of Chattanooga and business officials gathered at the Tivoli Theatre at noon on April 5 for what was originally called a memorial service, but was later renamed a service of rededication.
Some 1,500 people attended, and only afterward did the audience members learn that a bomb threat had been called in beforehand.
Leading the service was Mayor Kelley, who was calling for unity and tolerance.
Other speakers and participants representing both the black and white communities included the Rev. Louis Brooks of New Zion Baptist Church, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (Thomas) chairman DeSales Harrison, Chattanooga City College President Dr. Horace Traylor, Dr. King acquaintance John Popham III of the Chattanooga Times, the Rev. Harold Lester of Orchard Knob Baptist Church and the Rev. John Bonner of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Choirs from Notre Dame High School and City College also presented musical selections.
In a touching eulogy, the Rev. Brooks hoped the unfortunate death would cause local citizens to come a little closer together. "Join hands and hearts to make Chattanooga a better place in which to live," he said.
Mr. Harrison said that while the cause for which Dr. King fought had been set back, it had not been stopped. "It will in time bring justice to all men," he said of Dr. King's efforts.
This show of unity seemed to help. As the weekend passed, Chattanooga remained calm, although many continued to mourn over this man whose only formal visit to the Scenic City after he had become a well-known civil rights leader was in 1960.
But on Tuesday, April 9, the situation changed somewhat. Around mid-day, about 300 black students from Riverside High (now the home of Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences) descended on downtown. Some were wearing armbands.
Students from Howard High, the other traditional black school in Chattanooga at the time, were also on hand. Mayor Kelley had actually been making an unannounced speech and visit at Howard when some Riverside students arrived at the school and asked the Howard students to join them.
Fearing trouble in what was the first social unrest since some blacks and whites got in a fight outside Kress's store downtown during the early days of the sit-in movement of 1960, many downtown stores locked their doors as a precaution. However, a small amount of looting and thievery still took place.
Some adult black pastors and even teachers were with the students as observers, and most seemed to be trying to calm them down. The Rev. Lloyd Edwards was overheard saying to a group of black youngsters, "This is not the way the Rev. Martin Luther King would have handled the situation," as he tried to encourage them to make all their protests non-violent.
With the situation potentially volatile, Police Chief Eugene McGovern had brought some extra police aboard a bus to patrol on foot.
In a somewhat unusual move, however, the dangerous situation was quelled somewhat after Mayor Kelley and Fire and Police Commissioner "Bookie" Turner met some of the youths in front of the now-razed Greyhound bus station in the area near 10th Street. As the progresssive-for-his-time Mayor Kelley remembered years later, they bought the students lunch and talked with them about their anger. They tried to show they cared while also encouraging them that violence was not the answer and that they should eventually leave downtown.
The youths were evidently frustrated, as the paper said they were asking Commissioner Turner outside the station such questions as why blacks, or Negroes as they were then called, did not have equal rights in Chattanooga.
The move by Mayor Kelley and Commissioner Turner apparently worked, as the youths did eventually leave downtown without major incidents. However, the city's first curfew in modern history was put in place.
The next day, Wednesday, April 10, city schools as well as Central High in the county system were closed. Also, all sports activities for that day were canceled.
One or two additional minor incidents did happen. An arson fire destroyed Dave's Hardware in Alton Park, and officials were investigating to see if it was related to any racial protests.
But calm soon came to Chattanooga, and the curfew was lifted on April 15.
Chattanooga would go on to have more serious racial disturbances -- including in 1971 and 1980 over local incidents. These would show that Chattanooga unfortunately had some of the same frustrations over racial and social issues as did other cities.
But for a few short days in 1968, Chattanooga was able to show better than many other cities an ability to talk situations through both at the Tivoli and at the Greyhound station and prevent needless violence and property damage.
At a time when America mourned and let frustration get the best of it in a partly negative manner, the Scenic City found at least some positive dialogue.
jcshearer2@comcast.net