Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center Oral History Project


[Karen White]: In 1968, the year in which Martin Luther King was assassinated, we were called in to our classroom at Central. And we were told to go immediately home. That's how we were told. So I can recall walking down West Washington, and just a sense of silence, you know. The students were crying. It was just, "What do we do now?" 

And it was at that time that I made a decision in myself. I said, "You know what? I believe it's important that I, as an individual, must find my spot in life. And that I am obligated, and I have a responsibility to give back." I was a senior in high school at that time. And I said, "You know, I'm going to make a difference."