Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 3-30-18

FLORIDA SENTINEL
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FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018
50 Years Later —
On February 13, 1968, more than 1,300 sanitation workers took to the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. At the onset, no one knew the strike was to become a historical event.
The men were striking on the grounds of safety, better pay, dispute resolution, work- ing hours, and the right to organize. The strike had long been in the making, but cul- minated with the deaths of two workers ear- lier in the month.
On Thursday, February 1, 1968, 29-year- old Robert Walker and Echol Cole, 35, were crushed to death when a sanitation truck’s electrical system malfunctioned. Their deaths were a repeat of what had tran- spired 4 years earlier with two other work- ers.
Both Walker and Cole were still in training at the time of their deaths and were considered “unclassified workers” by the City. As a result, they earned less than $100 a week, and worked without benefits, insur- ance, overtime pay, and proper working at- tire. In fact, on February 1, 1968, they were forced to work in the rain without the bene- fit of raincoats.
All of the City of Memphis’ sanitation workers and sewer workers were African American. The working conditions worsened with the election of Henry Loeb as the City’s Mayor.
Loeb reportedly refused to remove the dangerous and antiquated sanitation trucks from service. He also refused to pay overtime when men were forced to work late night shifts.
Anniversary Of Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
Many of the sanitation workers were on welfare and received food stamps because their pay was insufficient to support their families.
The deaths of Walker and Cole became the catalyst for the strike.
After their deaths, 700 sanitation work- ers met with members of the local branch of the NAACP. The NAACP then passed a Res- olution to strike.
The strike officially began on February 13th and included sit-ins by the sanitation workers and their supporters.
On February 22nd, the City Council voted to recognize the AFSCME Union and recom- mended wage increases. However, Mayor Loeb rejected the Council’s recommenda- tion. He also said that he alone had the au- thority to recognize the union.
The following day, the men held a non- violent demonstration, marching to City
Hall. The marchers were met by police with mace and tear gas.
On February 24th, Minister James Lawson and 150 other local ministers formed the Community on the Move for Equality (COME) to draw attention to the condition of the striking sanitation workers.
The sanitation workers continued their daily marches, and by March, local high school and college students, with nearly 25% of them being white, joined the marches.
Minister Lawson, a longtime ally of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., re- mained in daily contact with Dr. King by phone. Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, Ralph Abernathy, James Bevel and other national Civil Rights leaders went to Memphis to rally behind the workers.
Dr. King arrived on March 18th and spoke to the strikers and their supporters. He encouraged the group to support the strikers
by going on a citywide work stoppage.
He also pledged to return on March 22nd to lead a protest through the City. However, a massive snowstorm caused them to
reschedule the march for March 28.
The march was cancelled after some be- came disruptive. As the people were in- structed to return to the church, downtown shops were looted and a 16-year-old was shot
and killed by police.
Police then followed the marchers back
to Clayborn Temple, went into the church, where they released tear gas inside the sanc- tuary and beat the people as they attempted to get fresh air.
This action was followed by Mayor Loeb declaring Martial Law and bringing in 4,000 National Guardsmen.
On March 29th, more than 200 sanitation workers resumed their daily march. This time, the workers carried signs that said, “I Am A Man.”
After the incident on March 28th, Dr. King left Memphis and returned to Atlanta. At that point, he considered not returning to Memphis. However, he decided that if the struggle for economic justice was going to be successful, then it was necessary to continue the non-violent demonstrations in Memphis.
Dr. King returned to Memphis, Ten- nessee on April 3. It was on the night of April 3rd, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his prophetic speech, “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop.” It was delivered at the Mason Temple, which was the Church of God in Christ Headquarters, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Assassination Of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 50th Anniversary of the Sanitation Strike of 1968 cannot be revisited without remembering the death of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He stepped onto the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel on the evening of April 4, 1968.
At approximately 6:05 p.m., a single gunshot rang out, and an hour later, Dr. King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital. The nation mourned as the life of Dr. King, the world renowned statesman, orator, clergyman, and Civil Rights leader came to an end. He was 39-years-old.
The evening before his assassination, Dr. King had delivered what was to become his prophetic and final speech entitled, “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop.” His audi- ence was more than 10,000 people in sup- port of the striking sanitation workers in Memphis. The world would later come to re- alize that Dr. King spoke of his own death the night before at the rally.
He began the speech by talking about different events in history and said if he were given a choice of when to live in any era, “I would turn to the Almighty, and say, “If you allow me to live just a few years in the sec- ond half of the 20th century, I will be happy.”
He re-emphasizing his stance on non-vi- olence, stating, “We don’t have to argue with anybody. We don’t have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don’t need any bricks and bottles. We don’t need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to
go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say,
“God sent us by here, to say to you that you’re not treat- ing his children right. And we’ve come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God’s chil- dren are con- cerned...
And he culminated the speech talking about a near death experience in which he was stabbed in the chest and sharing the vi- sion of his own demise...
“...And I want to say tonight — I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didn’t sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sit- ting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Con- stitution.
“If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been
around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for free- dom and ended seg- regation in inter-state travel.
“If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they
are going somewhere, because a man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.
“If I had sneezed — If I had sneezed I wouldn’t have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill.
“If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had.
“If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there.
“If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering.
“I’m so happy that I didn’t sneeze.
“And they were telling me —. Now, it doesn’t matter, now. It really doesn’t mat- ter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, “We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we’ve had the plane pro- tected and guarded all night.”
“And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.
“And I don’t mind.
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And 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 prom- ised land!
“And so I’m happy, tonight. I’m not wor- ried about anything. I’m not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”