On February 12, 1968, over 1,100 sanitation workers went on strike for better wages, working conditions, and safety. The strike was sparked by the deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two African American sanitation workers who were crushed to death by a garbage compactor. The strike also responded to a long history of neglect and abuse of Black employees. The workers’ slogan was “I AM a Man”. The strike lasted two months and four days, ending on April 16, 1968. The strike led to union rights and sparked a wave of African-American unionization across the South. In late March, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to march with the sanitation workers. The demonstration began peacefully but quickly deteriorated into a violent confrontation.
