When Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968 I was living and teaching there. I taught at what is now Rhodes College and also at Lemoyne-Owen College. The latter was a traditional Black College. Dr. King had come to Memphis to support the local Sanitation Worker strike. They were trying to get a union started in Memphis because up until then those men who collected the city’s garbage had no rights whatsoever. No health benefits, no sick leave, and no vacation time.
In a TV interview with the mayor the lead person for the Black workers was told: “You don’t want to go the Union route. Unions are all corrupt.” To which the worker’s coordinator replied: “Yes they are. About half as corrupt as most city governments.” Things had worked themselves up to a breaking point, so Dr. King was invited to come in and solve the situation. The garbage workers went on a strike that lasted six or seven weeks and were supported by the AF of L and CIO unions, The city streets and neighborhoods smelled like the dump itself.
Memphis had always been a fully segregated city, but when King was killed the place simply came apart. The whole city was on night-time lock-down and strict day time curfews. Very quickly the Mayor and City, Community organizers sponsored a huge march through the city streets right up to the City Hall. Many famous personages who were supporters of the strike spoke to the large crowd. Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, and several Soul groups were on the stage. The Master of Ceremonies was Rev. James Lawson.
At one point in the festivities a group of Black young people began to smash store windows and engage in serious looting. Almost at once the March’s Coordinator called out through the sound system: “Down. Right now, everyone get down.” And almost instantly some 5,000 people knelt in the street so that the police could roundup the looters. From then on things went very smoothly. This march became known as the “I am a Man” march since so many people carried signs with this motto.
My 13-year-old son and I participated in this march, and to this day he affirms that it was a turning point in his life. I must admit that I, too, count this march as a serious turning point in my life. Since that day Memphis has become a different, more open city, although there is still a long way to go. The strike was settled, the sanitation workers got their Union, and several white churches organized tours through the ghetto areas so white folks got to see the difficulties facing folks living in Black communities.
For the past couple of years prior to the March I had been teaching at the local Negro College and had developed some very rich friendships with a number of my students. During the difficult days right after the assassination the college held a memorial Service for Dr. King and two of my students called me to ask if I would like to attend the service with them. I, of course, was deeply touched by their invitation and promptly accepted to do so. It was a great privilege to honor Dr. King alongside my students.
This entire experience has remained as a crucial turning point in my own political and spiritual development. I continue to pray that Dr. King’s sacrifice will eventually prove to have been effective and worth it.

I began my college teaching career in the fall of 1960. It was at a small liberal arts college in Seattle, Seattle Pacific. In my very first class there was a group of extremely bright and eager young men. These fellows chose philosophy as the major right from the start. I was just a beginner so I was both honored and a bit frightened by their enthusiasm. Because the college had not really developed the philosophy department I grew into the responsibility of devising new courses for my students every year.
During our four years together this group of young men developed into first rate philosophy students and challenged me to do the same. Each semester we explored new topics and thinkers as we developed as young thinkers. They were all about 18 years of age and I was 27. Needless to say, we grew into a rather tight group of learners over the four years we spent together in the classroom. In addition, we also became very close friends. They spent a good deal of time hanging out at my house and participating in college functions, like basketball games, together.
Warren Barnes came from Spokane. He had a fine sense of humor and a very strange laugh, a characteristic which endeared him to the other students in the classroom. He was greatly liked by his fellow philosophy majors, and they were glad to help him through some tough emotional difficulties. Warren went on to earn is Master of Divinity degree at San Francisco Theological Seminary in California. Over the years he devoted much of his life to working with the farm workers movement in the campaigns directed by Cesar Chavez. Later on Warren served as a Presbyterian pastor in Sacramento, Ca. until his recent retirement.
Dale Cannon was from Cottage Grove, Oregon and did a double major in physics and philosophy. He spent his Junior Year in England at Manchester University studying physics and actually earned a scholarship to Duke University to study the philosophy of science. Along the way he switched majors and earned his Doctorate degree at Duke in the philosophy of religion. After teaching at both Skidmore College and the University of Virginia Dale spent the rest of his career teaching at Western Oregon University. Along with several articles in scholarly journals, Dale wrote a major book entitled Six Ways of Being Religious. He too has now retired.
Roger Dexter came from Everett, Washington and was a standout on the college track team. Roger often struggled with the fact that he had been raised a Christian and thus had no “conversion” experience upon which to base his faith. He earned a scholarship to attend Yale University and study philosophy. After earning his doctorate degree, he took a position teaching position was at Portland State University in Oregon. Roger’s life and career was cut short by an early death from a particularly vicious form of cancer.
Jim Mathews was born and raised in Seattle where he was very active in church life and especially in its musical aspect. He was an outstanding trumpeter. Jim had been quite scholarly all through high school and in college he maintained a straight “A” average, except for the “B” in got in Softball. He was a double major in philosophy and English. Jim received a scholarship to study literature at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he earned his Ph.D. After a year teaching at The Tulsa University in Oklahoma Jim began a lengthy teaching stint at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. He finished his career as President of a Presbyterian Preparatory School in Texas. Jim’s major book is a life of Frank O’Connor, the well-known Irish poet and novelist, and is entitled Voices: A Life of Frank O’Connor.
Dale Ramerman hailed from Everett, Washington where he had been a close friend of Roger Dexter. In college Dale spent a good deal of time as a sports statistician, along with his philosophy studies. After graduation he earned a Master’s Degree in philosophy at the nearby University of Washington and then went on to earn a Law degree there as well. A few years later he became a King County Judge, a career which he followed with distinction until his retirement. For a good number of years now he has lived in Anacortes, Washington where he serves as a Deacon in the local Episcopal Church where his wife serves as Pastor.
Jim Watson grew up in Seattle as the grandson of the founder of the college where his and my paths crossed. Along with Jim Matthews, Jim Watson also took a number of courses in the English Department. He had spent his boyhood deeply involved with the Boy Scouts, and in later years he continued to work with the Scouts extensively. At his graduation Jim received a scholarship to study philosophy at the University of Chicago. However, shortly after he began his studies there his eyesight began to fail drastically and he had to withdraw. Over the succeeding yeas Jim devoted himself to working in the Seattle Public School system, focusing on curriculum development, along with various Scouting activities. He spent his retirement years promoting different yachting enterprises.
Jim died a few years ago from a long and very painful illness.
Lastly, there was Delbert Wisdom, who hailed from Reardon, a small town near Spokane, Washington. His twin brother Darwin also was a student at Seattle Pacific College. Together they had been outstanding high school athletes. Del and I played intramural basketball against each other on a regular basis. Needless to say, he always got the better of me. He was an extremely likeable fellow and sort of served as a “big brother” to the other philosophy majors. After graduation Del received a scholarship to study philosophy at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Shortly after beginning there his Aunt asked him to take over her farm in eastern Washington because it had simply become too much for her to manage.
Over his lifetime, Del and his wife Judy were able to develop the farm in an extraordinary way. After a few years the farm produced about half of the vegetables sold by the Jolly Green Giant Company. He has since transferred his farm to his son and has spent some time guiding some farmers he has “adopted” in Mexico. Del stills reads philosophy, among many other things, and we talk from time to time about various topics. As a “hobby” Del has started up a bookstore in eastern Washington.
I am still in touch with most of these fellows, and needless to say it is a source of great joy for me to be able to do so. They were a great gift to me as I began my teaching career, and they continue as such. They are in their seventies, and I am now 90. We have been friends for over sixty years. To paraphrase the baseball great Joe DiMaggio, who wrote a book entitled Lucky to be a Yankee, I’m lucky to have been their teacher.