African American History, Black History, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Race, Racism

Bessie Rogers and Taylor Rogers | StoryCorps

Read Time 1 min.

Bessie Rogers and Taylor Rogers | StoryCorps



[dropcap]Retired[/dropcap] Memphis, Tennessee sanitation worker Taylor Rodgers and his wife, Bessie, were at the Mason Temple on April 3, 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

One day later, on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated.

Taylor and Bessie came to StoryCorps to discuss being in the audience that day, how they felt hearing the speech in person, and their subsequent feelings after learning about the death of Dr. King.