I+Am+a+Man+LF

= I Am a Man = ====On Feb. 1, 1968 two Memphis garbage collectors, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death by a malfunctioning truck. The African American community were upset by the way the city handled the situation. 1,300 sanitation workers decided to go on strike, so something would be done about the way the black community were being treated. The workers had a lot of people supporting the strike including: Martin Luther King Jr. and the NAACP( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Although they had a lot of support for the strike, their own Mayor of Memphis, Henry Loeb was not for the strike.==== ====On March 18 Martin Luther King Jr. flew to Memphis to address a crowd of 25,000. Speaking to a group of civil right activists and people of the black community, King gave his famous speech “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top.” King showed his support for the sanitation workers and their strike. “ We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through,” said King. King was assassinated April 3, after he had returned to Memphis to give another speech to dedicated sanitation workers.==== ====Another organization that supported the strike was called NAACP. The people of the NAACP pressured the City Council with sit-ins by the sanitation workers and the people that supported them, to vote to recognize the union and recommended a wage increase. The black community would stop at nothing to get what they deserved and to be treated equally. “For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”(MLK Jr.) The support they had soon didn’t matter because one man didn’t support the sanitation worker’s strike.==== ====In January 1968 Henry Loeb was elected Mayor of Memphis and did NOT support the strike. Loeb refused to recognize the Union and rejected the Council’s vote. Mayor Loeb refused to take dilapidated trucks out of service or pay overtime for the blacks when they had no choice to work overtime. King returned to Memphis on March 28 to lead a march of 22,000. The strike erupted in violence and King was rushed to a hotel for safety. After coming in contact with tear gas, being beaten by policemen, Mayor Loeb called in for martial law and brought in 4,000 National Guard troops, the following day 200 striking workers continued their daily march with signs that read “I Am a Man.”==== ====April 8, Mrs. King and union leaders marched through Memphis in honor of King, demanding that Loeb gibe into the unions request. In front of the City Hall the AFSCME(American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) pledged to support the workers until “We have justice.” April 16 the City Council were to recognize the union and guaranteed a better wage. The strike was brought to an end, but the union had to threaten another strike so the city would follow through with their commitment.====