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FIFTEEN
ON MONDAY, DOWN in Memphis, the body of sixteen-year-old Larry Payne, shot and killed by a white policeman, lay in state at Clayborn Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, the starting point for the previous week’s march led by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hundreds of blacks came to the church to pay their respects under the gaze of National Guard troops. King would return the following day to Memphis, where he was scheduled to lead another march on Friday.
On Monday, around the country, politicians commented publicly on LBJ’s withdrawal from the race and his new, relatively dovish stance on the war in Vietnam. Former Vice President Richard Nixon, the leading Republican candidate, said that “a bombing halt in itself would not be a step toward peace.” California governor Ronald Reagan stated that “de-escalation has usually resulted in the death of more Americans” and added that he “would favor a step-up of the war.” Robert Ke
On Monday, in D.C., working-class people went about their day-to-day. Derek Strange and Troy Peters patrolled their district. Buzz Stewart followed Walter Hess to a garage in Hyattsville, Maryland, where Hess dropped off his Galaxie to be repaired. Then Stewart drove Hess to his job at the machine shop and went on to his own shift at the Esso station, where Dominic Martini was already on the clock, pumping gas. Inside the Three-Star on Ke
De
The old Jew, Mr. Ludvig, sat behind the counter, the Post spread out before him. The market’s black-and-white set was on cha
Mr. Ludvig raised his head as De
“That was me,” said De
“Mr. Thomas is in the stockroom.”
“I speak to him?”
Ludvig looked De
“Walk around to the alley. John’s getting ready to have a smoke break. He’ll be out back.”
The alley bordered two residential blocks, all row houses, with the market the only commercial property on the strip. Street cats and kittens scattered as De
“Little brother,” said De
“Told my mother I was sick.”
“Can’t be too sick, you out here playin’.”
“Yeah, well, you know.”
“Knowledge is power,” said De
“What my moms said,” said the boy. “But she at work.”
“You take care of yourself, now, hear?”
De
“Young man,” said Thomas.
“How you doin’?”
“Doin’ good.” Thomas’s eyes went to the book under De
De
“Eldridge Cleaver speaks the truth.”
“On some things he does,” said Thomas. “I will give you that. Never had it all explained to me before the way he does, even though I’ve been livin’ it my whole life. My son, young man about your age, passed it on to me. Hard for me to get with all of it, understand. Harder still to get with the man himself.”
“What you don’t like about him?”
“He’s a rapist, for one. That right there, I mean, it goes against my Christian upbringing to follow a man like him.”
“He did his time.”
“As he should have. But that kind of violence against another human being… don’t see how anyone can look past that. Now, you take a man like King, well, that’s a leader right there. The reverend’s coming from a place of peace. Course, you bein’ your age and all, you probably too impatient for all that.”
“I respect the man. Ain’t no question he’s good. But some young black men and women feel like that passive resistance thing ain’t go
“What you think works, then? Fire? You seen what happened in Watts. You young black men and women burn this society we got, what you got ready to take its place? This market here goes to ashes, black people like me go
“I hear you. And I know you might not like it. It might not even make sense to you. But it’s coming just the same.”
“I don’t need to be readin’ that book to learn about the problem,” said Thomas. “What we all need now is some kind of solution that’s not go
“People always go
Ludvig appeared in the doorway to the stockroom and cleared his throat. “Everything okay out here?”
“Yes, Mr. Ludvig,” said Thomas.
Ludvig looked from Thomas to De
Thomas set his eyes on De
“Does it show?”
“It did last night. Looked like you had something you wanted to tell me then.” Thomas hit his cigarette, tapped ash to the concrete. “Might as well do it now.”
De
“The ones was sittin’ in that green Monterey, waitin’ on you to come out.”
De
“Don’t look so surprised. I knew you was wrong the minute you walked into the market. Y’all should’ve left out of there right away, ’stead of sittin’ on the street debating or whatever it was you was doin’. Parked under a street lamp, too. I watched you people from the plate-glass window. My eyes haven’t failed me yet. Got a good look at the driver, dark-ski