Memphis 1968: the workers’ strike that became MLK’s point of no return

The Fatal Strike That Claimed Martin Luther King

The Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968 began with death.

Two Black workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed in a faulty garbage truck while hiding from rain. Their families got nothing.

Soon after, 1,300 sanitation workers walked off the job, sick of $1. 60 wages and unsafe work.

They marched with “I AM A MAN” signs while the mayor turned his back. Martin Luther King Jr. came to help, gave his famous “Mountaintop” speech, then was shot dead at the Lorraine Motel the next day. The strike won only after King’s blood was spilled.

Today, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel tells this powerful story of sacrifice.

Two Workers Crushed to Death Started a Movement

On February 1, 1968, Echol Cole, 36, and Robert Walker, 30, jumped into their garbage truck to escape heavy rain. Segregation laws kept these Black workers from taking shelter in nearby buildings.

The truck’s electrical system suddenly failed, turning on the compactor. Both men got crushed to death inside.

Their families received almost nothing, just $500 for funeral costs. Neither worker could afford life insurance, and the city gave their loved ones no real help.

Thirteen Hundred Workers Walked Off the Job

On February 12, 1968, about 1,300 Black sanitation workers stopped showing up for work. T.O. Jones, who once collected garbage himself, led the walkout with AFSCME Local 1733’s support.

The workers wanted simple things: better pay, safer working conditions, overtime pay, and union recognition. Most earned just $1.60 an hour, so little that many got welfare while working full-time.

Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb called the strike illegal and refused to talk with the union.

Mayor Loeb Ignored the City Council’s Vote

On February 22, the Memphis City Council voted to recognize the union and raise wages after workers held a sit-in at City Hall. Mayor Loeb threw out their decision, saying only he could recognize the union.

The next day, police attacked peaceful marchers with mace and tear gas as they walked toward City Hall. This harsh response shocked Memphis’ Black community.

Many workers faced daily mistreatment from white supervisors who fired them without warning.

Local Ministers Formed a Powerful Coalition

On February 24, 150 ministers met in a church basement and created Community on the Move for Equality (COME). Reverend James Lawson, a longtime friend of Martin Luther King Jr., took charge of this group.

COME planned to use peaceful protests to fill Memphis jails and bring national attention to the workers’ fight.

By March, local students joined daily marches, with about a quarter of them white. Police arrested over 100 protesters, including several religious leaders.

King Spoke to the Largest Indoor Civil Rights Gathering Ever

Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis on March 18 and spoke to 25,000 people packed into Mason Temple.

No indoor civil rights meeting had ever drawn such a huge crowd.

King linked the sanitation workers’ struggle to human dignity: “Whenever you work that serves humanity, it has dignity and worth. ” He asked everyone to support a citywide work stoppage to pressure city officials.

Workers carried signs reading “I AM A MAN” during their daily marches.

A Freak Snowstorm Delayed the Big March

A huge snowstorm hit Memphis on March 22, forcing King to put off his planned return to lead a major protest. The march got moved to March 28.

SCLC leaders James Bevel and Ralph Abernathy stayed in Memphis to help organize while Reverend Lawson kept King updated by phone.

Other big civil rights figures showed up to support the workers, including Roy Wilkins and Bayard Rustin. The strike entered its sixth week with no end in sight.

Violence Erupted During King’s First Memphis March

King returned on March 28 to lead what started as a peaceful march through downtown Memphis. Things quickly went wrong when about 200 people at the back of the crowd began breaking windows and looting stores.

Police moved in with force, killing 16-year-old Larry Payne during the chaos. The city set a strict curfew and called in nearly 4,000 National Guard troops.

King got rushed away as officers attacked marchers with mace, clubs, and tear gas.

King Delivered His Final and Most Prophetic Speech

Upset by the violence, King came back to Memphis on April 3 to show a peaceful protest could work. That night at Mason Temple, he gave what became his last speech, now known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”

His words seemed to predict his own death: “I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land! ”

King saw the Memphis struggle as part of his broader Poor People’s Campaign.”

A Bullet at the Lorraine Motel Changed History

The next evening, April 4, someone shot King as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. His death caused riots in Memphis and across the nation.

Federal officials urged Mayor Loeb to end the strike to stop more violence, but he still refused. The Memphis riots caused over $400,000 in damage.

King’s murder turned the sanitation workers’ fight from a local labor dispute into a national symbol of the struggle for racial and economic justice in America.

Forty-Two Thousand People Marched in Silence

Four days after King’s murder, on April 8, about 42,000 people walked quietly through Memphis streets. Coretta Scott King led the march alongside union leaders and King’s SCLC colleagues.

United Auto Workers president Walter Reuther joined and wrote a check for $50,000 to support the striking workers, the largest single donation they received.

Outside City Hall, AFSCME leaders promised to back the workers “until we have justice. ” The massive turnout finally made city officials rethink their position.

Workers Won Their Strike After Sixty-Four Days

The strike finally ended on April 16, 1968, after President Lyndon Johnson sent labor negotiator James Reynolds to Memphis to broker a deal. After 64 days on strike, the workers won union recognition and better wages.

The city agreed to a 10-cent-per-hour raise immediately, with another 5 cents later that year. AFSCME Local 1733 became the official representative of Memphis sanitation workers.

The victory came at a terrible cost – King’s life – but proved that unified action could force change even in the deeply segregated South.

Several months later, the union had to threaten another strike when the city dragged its feet implementing the agreement.

Visiting Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Washington

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at 1964 Independence Avenue SW connects you to King’s final campaign supporting Memphis sanitation workers.

You can visit free anytime and read 14 King quotes carved into the 450-foot inscription wall. Park rangers offer programs from 9:30am to 10pm daily.

Take the Orange, Blue, or Silver Metro lines to Smithsonian station for easy access to this tribute to his fight for economic justice.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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