Memphis sanitation strike - wikipedia Memphis sanitation strike Memphis sanitation strike Part of the Civil Rights Movement The strikers ' slogan was `` I AM a Man ''. Date February 12 -- April 16, 1968 ( 2 months and 4 days ) Location Memphis, Tennessee, Charles Mason Temple, Clayborn Temple Caused by Racial discrimination faced by black sanitation workers Death of Echol Cole and Robert Walker from garbage compactor Black sanitation workers exposed to dangerous working conditions Resulted in Larry Payne killed by police during march and disorder Speech `` I 've Been to the Mountaintop '' delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968 Union AFSCME local 1733 recognized by City of Memphis Increased wages for sanitation workers by City of Memphis Parties to the civil conflict Sanitation workers American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME ) Community on the Move for Equality ( COME ) Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) City of Memphis Lead figures Sanitation workers T.O. Jones SCLC members Martin Luther King Jr City of Memphis Henry Loeb, mayor Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee Tent City Nashville sit - ins March Against Fear Memphis sanitation strike The Memphis sanitation strike began in February 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Following years of poor pay and dangerous working conditions, and provoked by the crushing to death of workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker in garbage compactors, over 700 of the 1300 black sanitation workers met on Sunday, February 11, and agreed to strike. They then did not turn out for work on the following day. They also sought to join the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME ) Local 1733. The sanitation strike was also the reason for Martin Luther King Jr. 's presence in Memphis, where he was assassinated. Memphis 's mayor, Henry Loeb, declared the strike illegal and refused to meet with local black leaders ( he did meet with AFSCME 's national officers ). Heavily redacted files released in 2012 suggest that the FBI monitored the strike and increased its operations in Memphis during 1968. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Union activities 1.2 Precursors 2 Course of the strike 2.1 Media coverage 3 Connection to civil rights movement 3.1 Involvement of Martin Luther King Jr. 4 Roles of the union 4.1 National leadership 4.2 Local unions 5 End of the strike 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links Background The city of Memphis had a long history of segregation and unfair treatment for black residents. The influential politician E.H. Crump had created a city police force, much of it culled from the Ku Klux Klan, that acted violently toward the black population and maintained Jim Crow. Blacks were excluded from unions and paid much less than whites -- conditions which persisted and sometimes worsened in the first half of the 20th century. During the New Deal, blacks were able to organize as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a group which Crump called communist `` nigger unionism. '' However, organized black labor was set back by anti-communist fear after World War II. Civil rights and unionism in Memphis were thus heavily stifled all through the 1950s. The civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with desegregation sit - ins in the summer of 1960. The NAACP and SCLC were particularly active in Memphis during this period. Memphis sanitation workers were mostly black. They enjoyed few of the protections that other workers had ; their pay was low and they could be fired ( usually by white supervisors ) without warning. In 1968, these workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour. In addition to their sanitation work, often including unpaid overtime, many worked other jobs or appealed to welfare and public housing. Union activities Black sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960, when T.O. Jones and O.Z. Evers began signing workers up with the Teamsters. However, many blacks were afraid to unionize due to fear of persecution. This fear proved justified in 1963, when 33 workers ( including Jones ) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting they attended. Nevertheless, AFSCME Local 1733 was successfully formed in November 1964. A strike in August 1966 was thwarted before it began when the city prepared strikebreakers and threatened to jail leaders. Precursors At the end of 1967, Henry Loeb was elected as mayor against the opposition of Memphis 's black community. Loeb had served previously as the head of the sanitation division ( as the elected Public Works Commissioner ), and during his tenure oversaw grueling work conditions -- including no city - issued uniforms, no restrooms, and no grievance procedure for the numerous occasions on which they were underpaid. Upon taking office, Loeb increased regulations on the city 's workers and appointed Charles Blackburn as the Public Works Commissioner. Loeb ordered Jones and the union to deal with Blackburn ; Blackburn said he had no authority to change the city 's policies. On February 1, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two sanitation workers, were crushed to death in a garbage compactor where they were taking shelter from the rain. Two other men had died this way in 1964, but the city refused to replace the defective equipment. On February 12, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the Memphis Labor Temple, furious with their working conditions. The workers left the meeting with no organized plan, but a feeling that something had to be done -- immediately. Some of the garbage packers faced the added danger of working on antiquated trucks they called `` wiener - barrel '' trucks. This was the kind of truck that Echol Cole and Robert Walker were working the day they were killed. ( Photo : Southern Hollows / S. Liles ) Course of the strike On Monday, February 12, 1,375 men ( mostly sanitation and sewage workers but also other employees of Memphis ' Department of Public Works ) did not show up for work. Some of those who did show up walked off when they found out about the apparent strike. Mayor Loeb, infuriated, refused to meet with the strikers. The workers marched from their union hall to a meeting at the City Council chamber ; there, they were met with 40 -- 50 police officers. Loeb led the workers to a nearby auditorium, where he asked them to return to work. They laughed and booed him, then applauded union leaders who spoke. At one point, Loeb grabbed the microphone from AFSCME International organizer Bill Lucy and shouted `` Go back to work ! '', storming out of the meeting soon after. The workers declined. By February 15, piles of trash ( 10,000 tons worth ) were noticeable, and Loeb began to hire strikebreakers. These individuals were white and traveled with police escorts. They were not well received by the strikers, and the strikers assaulted the strikebreakers in some cases. As of February 21, 1968, the sanitation workers established a daily routine of meeting at noon with nearly a thousand strikers and then marching from Clayborn Temple to downtown. The marchers faced police brutality in the forms of mace, tear gas, and billy clubs. On February 24, while addressing the strikers after a `` police assault '' on their protests, Reverend James Lawson said, `` For at the heart of racism is the idea that a man is not a man, that a person is not a person. You are human beings. You are men. You deserve dignity. '' Rev. Lawson 's comments embody the message behind the iconic placards from the sanitation workers ' strike, `` I Am A Man ''. On the evening of February 26, Clayborn Temple held over a thousand supporters of the movement. Reverend Ralph Jackson charged the crowd to not rest until `` justice and jobs '' prevailed for all black Americans. That night they raised $1,600 to support the Movement. Rev. Jackson declared further that once the immediate demands of the strikers were met, the movement would focus on ending police brutality, as well as improving housing and education across the city for black Memphians. Our Henry, who art in City Hall, Hard - headed be thy name. Thy kingdom C.O.M.E. Our will be done, In Memphis, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our Dues Checkoff, And forgive us our boycott, As we forgive those who spray MACE against us. And lead us not into shame, But deliver us from LOEB ! For OURS is justice, jobs, and dignity, Forever and ever. Amen. FREEDOM ! -- `` Sanitation Workers ' Prayer '' recited by Reverend Malcolm Blackburn Media coverage The local news media were generally favorable to Loeb, portraying union leaders ( and later Martin Luther King Jr. ) as meddling outsiders. The Commercial Appeal wrote editorials ( and published cartoons ) praising the mayor for his toughness. Newspapers and television stations generally portrayed the mayor as calm and reasonable, and the protesters and organizers as unruly and disorganized. The Tri-State Defender, an African American newspaper, and The Sou'wester, a local college newspaper, reported the events of the strike from the sanitation workers ' perspective. These publications emphasized the brutality of the police reactions to the protestors. Connection to civil rights movement From the beginning, strikers refused to erase the racial dimension of the issues at hand. Various speakers from the NAACP addressed the strikers in the union hall. Many of these leaders, including Reverend Samuel Kyles, opposed the alliance with white union leaders who seemed to be riding the strikers ' coattails. Support for the strike in Memphis was divided heavily along racial lines. White strikebreakers increased the workers ' resentment. The wider black community became directly involved on Saturday, February 17, with a widely attended meeting at Charles Mason Temple. Bishop J.O. Patterson pledged to help the strikers with food ; others present followed his example. On Sunday, February 18, supporters of the strike visited black churches around the city, successfully garnering more support. On a February 23 demonstration, police changed their demands midway through the event, leading to conflict with the protesters. On February 24, black leaders came together to form Community on the Move for Equality ( COME ). Due to the efforts of COME, the strike grew into an important event during the Civil Rights Movement, attracting the attention of the NAACP, the national news media, and Martin Luther King Jr. Local clergy members and community leaders also undertook an active campaign, including boycotts and civil disobedience. Civil Rights leaders Roy Wilkins, James Lawson, and Bayard Rustin all participated over the course of the strike. The strike thus came to represent the broader struggle for equality within Memphis, whose many black residents lived disproportionately in poverty. I Am A Man ! emerged as a unifying civil rights theme. Involvement of Martin Luther King Jr Before he died on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. also took an active role in mass meetings and street actions. He first visited the Memphis strike on March 18, speaking to an audience of thousands at Mason Temple. A demonstration on March 28 ( with King in attendance ) turned violent when some protesters started breaking windows. Some held signs reading `` LOEB EAT SHIT ''. Police responded with batons and tear gas, killing Larry Payne, a sixteen - year - old boy, with a shotgun. Payne 's funeral was held in Clayborn Temple. Despite police pressure to have a private closed - casket funeral in their home, the family held the funeral at Clayborn and had an open casket. Following the funeral the sanitation workers marched peacefully downtown. Roles of the union Membership in Local 1733 increased substantially during the course of the strike, more than doubling in the first few days. Its relationship with other unions was complex. National leadership The AFSCME leadership in Washington was initially upset to learn of the strike, which they thought would not succeed. P.J. Ciampa, a field organizer for the AFL -- CIO, reportedly reacted to news of the strike saying, `` Good God Almighty, I need a strike in Memphis like I need another hole in the head ! '' However, both AFSCME and the AFL -- CIO sent representatives to Memphis ; these organizers came to support the strike upon recognizing the determination of the workers. Jones, Lucy, Ciampa, and other union leaders, asked the striking workers to focus on labor solidarity and downplay racism. The workers refused. Local unions During the strike, Local 1733 received direct support from URW Local 186. Local 186 had the largest black membership in Memphis, and allowed the strikers to use their union hall for meetings. Most white union leaders in Memphis feared the blackness of the strikers, and expressed concern about race riots. Tommy Powell, president of the Memphis Labor Council, was one of few local white advocates. End of the strike President Obama met former members of the strike in 2011 King 's assassination ( April 4, 1968 ) intensified the strike. Mayor Loeb and others feared rioting, which had already begun in Washington, D.C., Federal officials, including Attorney General Ramsey Clark, urged Loeb to make concessions to the strikers in order to avoid violence. Loeb refused. On April 8, a completely silent march with the SCLC and Coretta Scott King attracted 42,000 participants. The strike ended on April 16, 1968, with a settlement that included union recognition and wage increases, although additional strikes had to be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honor its agreements. The period was a turning point for black activism and union activity in Memphis. See also 1960s portal Labor Hall of Honor References Jump up ^ `` Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike ( 1968 ) '', King Encyclopedia, Stanford University, archived from the original on January 19, 2017 Jump up ^ Melvyn Dubofsky, ed. ( 2013 ), `` Memphis Sanitation Strike ( 1968 ) '', The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor, and Economic History, Oxford University Press, p. 508, ISBN 9780199738816 Jump up ^ `` 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strikers Inducted Into Labor Hall Of Fame ''. Dclabor.org. May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Navarro, Kylin ; Max Rennebohm ( September 12, 2010 ). `` Memphis, Tennessee, sanitation workers strike, 1968 ''. Global Nonviolent Action Database. Swarthmore College. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Jump up ^ Perrusquia, Marc ( July 3, 2012 ). `` FBI admits noted Memphis civil rights photographer Ernest Withers was informant ''. The Commercial Appel. Retrieved July 19, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). `` A Plantation in the City ''. Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King 's last campaign ( 1. ed. ). New York ( u.a. ) : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. The mix of segregation, low wages, anti-union sentiment, and machine politics in Memphis created a particularly deadly legacy for public sector employees. Jump up ^ Biles, Roger ( September 1, 1984 ). `` Ed crump versus the unions : The labor movement in Memphis during the 1930s ''. Labor History. 25 ( 4 ) : 533 -- 552. doi : 10.1080 / 00236568408584775. Retrieved August 1, 2012. Jump up ^ Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). `` Dr. King, Labor, and the Civil Rights Movement ''. Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King 's last campaign. New York ( u.a. ) : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. On February 1, the first lunch - counter ' sit - ins ' began in Greensboro, North Carolina ; weeks later, in Memphis, a handful of black students followed their example, sitting in and getting arrested for breaking the segregation laws at the city 's segregated public libraries. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). `` Struggles of the Working Poor ''. Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King 's last campaign ( 1 ed. ). New York : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. Jump up ^ `` The Accident on a Garbage Truck That Led to the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr ''. Southern Hollows podcast. Retrieved 3 June 2018. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). `` On Strike for Respect ''. Going down Jericho Road the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King 's last campaign ( 1 ed. ). New York : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. Jump up ^ `` 1968 AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Workers ' Strike Chronology ''. AFSCME Local 1733 pamphlet. 1968. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 28 Feb 2018. Jump up ^ Stanfield, J. Edwin ( 1968 ). In Memphis : more than a garbage strike. Atlanta, GA : Southern Regional Council. p. 1. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). `` Hambone 's Meditations : The Failure of Community ''. Going down Jericho Road : The Memphis strike, Martin Luther King 's last campaign ( 1st ed. ). New York : Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. ^ Jump up to : Risen, Clay ( 2009 ). `` King, Johnson, and The Terrible, Glorious Thirty - First Day of March ''. A nation on fire : America in the wake of the King assassination. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978 - 0 - 470 - 17710 - 5. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). Going Down Jericho Road. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 04339 - 6. Jump up ^ Atkins, Joseph B. ( 2008 ). `` Labor, civil rights, and Memphis ''. Covering for the bosses : labor and the Southern press. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781934110805. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Like Memphis itself, the editors at the Commercial Appeal and Press - Scimitar felt they had kept their heads largely above the fray during the civil rights battles across the South in the early to mid-1960s, particularly in comparison to the blatantly racist and rabble - rousing histrionics in the two majors newspapers of Mississippi, the Clarion - Ledger and the Jackson Daily News. (... ) Yet the sanitation strike of 1968 and Martin Luther King 's involvement proved to many black Memphians that the newspapers were n't that different from their sister papers in Mississippi and elsewhere in the South. Blacks picketed both newspapers within a week after the end of the sanitation strike to protest the coverage. Jump up ^ `` Law Officers Lit Cauldron '' ( PDF ). The Sou'wester. April 3, 1968. Archived ( PDF ) from the original on October 22, 2016 -- via DLynx. ^ Jump up to : Honey, Michael ( December 25, 2009 ). `` Memphis Sanitation Strike ''. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Tennessee Historical Society. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Jump up ^ Memphis sanitation workers strike in 1968 with `` I Am A Man '' posters, which emerged as a unifying civil rights theme. Archived December 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Timeline of Events Surrounding the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers ' Strike ''. American Social History Project. November 1, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Jump up ^ Risen, Clay ( 2009 ). `` April 5 : ' Any Man 's Death Diminishes Me ' ''. A nation on fire : America in the wake of the King assassination. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978 - 0 - 470 - 17710 - 5. Bibliography Honey, Michael K. ( 2007 ). Going Down Jericho Road : The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King 's Last Campaign. New York : W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393043396. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memphis sanitation strike. Strike - related photos, audio, and documents from the AFSCME Archives. Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University. Web Exhibit on the strike from the AFSCME Archives. Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University. * King 's Unfinished Struggle, at Socialist Worker website Memphis Sanitation Worker 's Strike, at Stanford 's KingPapers website Labor Rights are Human Rights, from Michael Honey, a professor of History The Last Wish of MLK, from NY Times The American Prospect explains why MLK was in Memphis AFSCME remembers the historical strike AFSCME provides a time - line of the relevant events The Accident on a Garbage Truck That Led to the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr., episode of the Southern Hollows podcast Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, Civil Rights Digital Library. Civil rights movement ( 1950s and 1960s ) Notable events ( timeline ) Prior to 1954 Journey of Reconciliation Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore 1954 -- 1959 Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton White America, Inc. Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery bus boycott Browder v. Gayle Tallahassee bus boycott Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom `` Give Us the Ballot '' Royal Ice Cream sit - in Little Rock Nine National Guard blockade Civil Rights Act of 1957 Kissing Case Biloxi wade - ins 1960 -- 1963 Greensboro sit - ins Nashville sit - ins Sit - in movement Civil Rights Act of 1960 Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia Rock Hill sit - ins Robert F. Kennedy 's Law Day Address Freedom Rides attacks Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement University of Chicago sit - ins `` Second Emancipation Proclamation '' Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot `` Segregation now, segregation forever '' Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 1963 Birmingham campaign Letter from Birmingham Jail Children 's Crusade Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing John F. Kennedy 's Report to the American People on Civil Rights March on Washington `` I Have a Dream '' St. Augustine movement 1964 -- 1968 Twenty - fourth Amendment Bloody Tuesday Freedom Summer workers ' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches `` How Long, Not Long '' Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement / Chicago open housing movement Memphis sanitation strike King assassination funeral riots Poor People 's Campaign Civil Rights Act of 1968 Green v. County School Board of New Kent County Activist groups Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Atlanta Student Movement Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Congress of Racial Equality ( CORE ) Committee on Appeal for Human Rights Council for United Civil Rights Leadership Dallas County Voters League Deacons for Defense and Justice Georgia Council on Human Relations Highlander Folk School Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Montgomery Improvement Association Nashville Student Movement NAACP Youth Council Northern Student Movement National Council of Negro Women National Urban League Operation Breadbasket Regional Council of Negro Leadership Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ) Southern Regional Council Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) The Freedom Singers Wednesdays in Mississippi Women 's Political Council Activists Ralph Abernathy Victoria Gray Adams Zev Aelony Mathew Ahmann William G. Anderson Gwendolyn Armstrong Arnold Aronson Ella Baker Marion Barry Daisy Bates Harry Belafonte James Bevel Claude Black Gloria Blackwell Randolph Blackwell Unita Blackwell Ezell Blair Jr. Joanne Bland Julian Bond Joseph E. Boone William Holmes Borders Amelia Boynton Raylawni Branch Ruby Bridges Aurelia Browder H. Rap Brown Guy Carawan Stokely Carmichael Johnnie Carr James Chaney J.L. Chestnut Colia Lafayette Clark Ramsey Clark Septima Clark Xernona Clayton Eldridge Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver Charles E. Cobb Jr. Annie Lee Cooper Dorothy Cotton Claudette Colvin Vernon Dahmer Jonathan Daniels Joseph DeLaine Dave Dennis Annie Devine Patricia Stephens Due Joseph Ellwanger Charles Evers Medgar Evers Myrlie Evers - Williams Chuck Fager James Farmer Walter Fauntroy James Forman Marie Foster Golden Frinks Andrew Goodman Fred Gray Jack Greenberg Dick Gregory Lawrence Guyot Prathia Hall Fannie Lou Hamer William E. Harbour Vincent Harding Dorothy Height Lola Hendricks Aaron Henry Oliver Hill Donald L. Hollowell James Hood Myles Horton Zilphia Horton T.R.M. Howard Ruby Hurley Jesse Jackson Jimmie Lee Jackson Richie Jean Jackson T.J. Jemison Esau Jenkins Barbara Rose Johns Vernon Johns Frank Minis Johnson Clarence Jones J. Charles Jones Matthew Jones Vernon Jordan Tom Kahn Clyde Kennard A.D. King C.B. King Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Sr. Bernard Lafayette James Lawson Bernard Lee Sanford R. Leigh Jim Letherer Stanley Levison John Lewis Viola Liuzzo Z. Alexander Looby Joseph Lowery Clara Luper Malcolm X Mae Mallory Vivian Malone Thurgood Marshall Benjamin Mays Franklin McCain Charles McDew Ralph McGill Floyd McKissick Joseph McNeil James Meredith William Ming Jack Minnis Amzie Moore Douglas E. Moore Harriette Moore Harry T. Moore William Lewis Moore Irene Morgan Bob Moses William Moyer Elijah Muhammad Diane Nash Charles Neblett Edgar Nixon Jack O'Dell James Orange Rosa Parks James Peck Charles Person Homer Plessy Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Fay Bellamy Powell Al Raby Lincoln Ragsdale A. Philip Randolph George Raymond Jr. Bernice Johnson Reagon Cordell Reagon James Reeb Frederick D. Reese Gloria Richardson David Richmond Bernice Robinson Jo Ann Robinson Bayard Rustin Bernie Sanders Michael Schwerner Cleveland Sellers Charles Sherrod Alexander D. Shimkin Fred Shuttlesworth Modjeska Monteith Simkins Glenn E. Smiley A. Maceo Smith Kelly Miller Smith Mary Louise Smith Maxine Smith Ruby Doris Smith - Robinson Charles Kenzie Steele Hank Thomas Dorothy Tillman A.P. Tureaud Hartman Turnbow Albert Turner C.T. Vivian Wyatt Tee Walker Hollis Watkins Walter Francis White Roy Wilkins Hosea Williams Kale Williams Robert F. Williams Andrew Young Whitney Young Sammy Younge Jr. James Zwerg Influences Nonviolence Padayatra Sermon on the Mount Mahatma Gandhi Ahimsa Satyagraha The Kingdom of God Is Within You Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Mary McLeod Bethune Related Jim Crow laws Lynching in the United States Plessy v. Ferguson Separate but equal Buchanan v. Warley Hocutt v. Wilson Sweatt v. Painter Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States Katzenbach v. McClung Loving v. Virginia Fifth Circuit Four Brown Chapel Holt Street Baptist Church Edmund Pettus Bridge March on Washington Movement African - American churches attacked List of lynching victims in the United States Freedom Songs `` Kumbaya '' `` Keep Your Eyes on the Prize '' `` Oh, Freedom '' `` This Little Light of Mine '' `` We Shall Not Be Moved '' `` We Shall Overcome '' Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam `` Beyond Vietnam : A Time to Break Silence '' Watts riots Voter Education Project 1960s counterculture Honoring In popular culture Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument Freedom Riders National Monument Civil Rights Memorial Other King memorials Noted historians Taylor Branch Clayborne Carson John Dittmer Michael Eric Dyson Chuck Fager Adam Fairclough David Garrow David Halberstam Vincent Harding Steven F. Lawson Doug McAdam Diane McWhorter Charles M. Payne Timothy Tyson Akinyele Umoja Movement photographers hide Martin Luther King Jr. hide Speeches, movements, and protests Speeches `` Give Us the Ballot '' ( 1957 ) `` I Have a Dream '' ( 1963 ) `` How Long, Not Long '' ( 1965 ) `` Beyond Vietnam : A Time to Break Silence '' ( 1967 ) `` I 've Been to the Mountaintop '' ( 1968 ) Writings Stride Toward Freedom : The Montgomery Story ( 1958 ) The Measure of a Man ( 1959 ) `` What Is Man ? '' `` Second Emancipation Proclamation '' Strength to Love ( 1963 ) Letter from Birmingham Jail ( 1963 ) Why We Ca n't Wait ( 1964 ) Conscience for Change ( 1967 ) Where Do We Go from Here : Chaos or Community ? ( 1967 ) Movements and protests Montgomery bus boycott ( 1955 -- 1956 ) Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom ( 1957 ) Albany Movement ( 1961 -- 1962 ) Birmingham campaign ( 1963 ) March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ( 1963 ) St. Augustine movement ( 1963 -- 1964 ) Selma to Montgomery marches ( 1965 ) Chicago Freedom Movement ( 1966 ) Mississippi March Against Fear ( 1966 ) Anti-Vietnam War movement ( 1967 ) Memphis sanitation strike ( 1968 ) Poor People 's Campaign ( 1968 ) People Family Coretta Scott King ( wife ) Yolanda King ( daughter ) Martin Luther King III ( son ) Dexter Scott King ( son ) Bernice King ( daughter ) Martin Luther King Sr. ( father ) Alberta Williams King ( mother ) Christine King Farris ( sister ) A.D. King ( brother ) Alveda King ( niece ) Other leaders Ralph Abernathy ( mentor and friend ) Ella Baker ( colleague ) James Bevel ( strategist / colleague ) Dorothy Cotton ( colleague ) Jesse Jackson ( protégé ) Bernard Lafayette ( colleague ) James Lawson ( colleague ) John Lewis ( colleague ) Joseph Lowery ( colleague ) Benjamin Mays ( mentor ) Diane Nash ( colleague ) James Orange ( colleague ) Bayard Rustin ( advisor ) Fred Shuttlesworth ( colleague ) C.T. Vivian ( colleague ) Wyatt Walker ( colleague ) Hosea Williams ( colleague ) Andrew Young ( colleague ) Assassination James Earl Ray Lorraine Motel ( now National Civil Rights Museum ) Funeral MLK Records Act Riots Loyd Jowers trial United States House Select Committee on Assassinations Media Film King : A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis ( 1970 documentary ) Our Friend, Martin ( 1999 animated ) Boycott ( 2001 film ) The Witness : From the Balcony of Room 306 ( 2008 documentary ) Alpha Man : The Brotherhood of MLK ( 2011 documentary ) Selma ( 2014 film ) All the Way ( 2016 film ) Television King ( 1978 miniseries ) `` The First Store '' ( The Jeffersons episode, 1980 ) `` Great X-Pectations '' ( A Different World episode, 1993 ) `` The Promised Land '' ( New York Undercover episode, 1997 ) `` Return of the King '' ( The Boondocks episode, 2006 ) Plays The Meeting ( 1987 ) The Mountaintop ( 2009 ) I Dream ( 2010 ) All the Way ( 2012 ) Illustrated Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story ( 1957 comic book ) Music `` Abraham, Martin and John '' ( Dion ) `` March ! For Martin Luther King '' ( John Fahey ) `` Martin Luther King 's Dream '' ( Strawbs ) `` Happy Birthday '' ( Stevie Wonder ) `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '' ( U2 ) `` MLK '' ( U2 ) `` King Holiday '' ( King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew ) `` By the Time I Get to Arizona '' ( Public Enemy ) `` Shed a Little Light '' ( James Taylor ) `` Up to the Mountain '' ( Patti Griffin ) `` Never Alone Martin '' ( Jason Upton ) `` Symphony of Brotherhood '' ( Miri Ben - Ari ) Joseph Schwantner : New Morning for the World ; Nicolas Flagello : The Passion of Martin Luther King ( 1995 album ) `` A Dream '' ( Common featuring will.i.am ) `` Glory '' ( Common and John Legend ) Related topics Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ) Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial National Historical Park King Center for Nonviolent Social Change Dexter Avenue Baptist Church National Civil Rights Museum Authorship issues Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Season for Nonviolence U.S. Capitol Rotunda sculpture Oval Office bust Homage to King sculpture, Atlanta Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture, Houston Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, San Francisco Landmark for Peace Memorial, Indianapolis Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue, Milwaukee The Dream sculpture, Portland, Oregon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr. Eponymous streets America in the King Years Civil rights movement in popular culture Lee -- Jackson -- King Day Martin Luther King High School ( disambiguation ) Lycée Martin Luther King ( disambiguation ) Protests of 1968 Movements 1968 movement in Italy Civil rights movement Anti-nuclear movement Black Consciousness Movement Black Power movement Black Power Revolution Chicano Movement Cultural Revolution Gay liberation German student movement Hippie movement Human rights movement in the Soviet Union May 1968 events in France Mexico 68 Northern Ireland civil rights movement Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War Prague Spring Red Power movement Sexual revolution The Troubles Women 's liberation movement Events 1968 Polish political crisis 1968 student demonstrations in Yugoslavia 1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity 1968 Miami riot 1968 Red Square demonstration Båstad riots Battle of Valle Giulia Ceaușescu 's speech of 21 August 1968 Central Park be-ins Columbia University protests of 1968 East L.A. walkouts King assassination riots March of the One Hundred Thousand Memphis sanitation strike Mexican Movement of 1968 ( Tlatelolco massacre ) Movement of 22 March Occupation of the Old Student House Occupation of the Student Union Building Poor People 's Campaign Presidio mutiny Rodney riots Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 Related Anti-capitalism Black Power Counterculture of the 1960s Desegregation Flower power Free love Hippie Antisemitism in Poland New Left Racism in the United States School discipline Second - wave feminism Segregation in Northern Ireland Student activism Vietnam War Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Memphis_sanitation_strike&oldid=856513563 '' Categories : 1968 labor disputes and strikes History of Memphis, Tennessee Civil rights protests in the United States Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights movement Labor disputes in the United States 1968 in Tennessee American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Labor disputes in Tennessee February 1968 events March 1968 events April 1968 events African - American history of Tennessee Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use dmy dates from February 2017 Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 25 August 2018, at 19 : 27 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did mlk lead protesters through memphis in support of sanitation workers
Answer: February 1968