Author: Colette Coleman The National Civil Rights Museum is a member of, Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Designated a World Peace Flame Monument Site, Member of the worldwide network of over 300 historic sites, National Civil Rights Museum • 450 Mulberry St. • Memphis, TN 38103 • (901) 521-9699, Artist Reception – SALVAGE: Reclaiming Memphis' Black Aesthetic. Directed by Jonathan Epstein. Steve Schapiro. The fatalities sparked outrage—workers had been lobbying the city in vain for properly functioning equipment. “A lot of people think of King as an all-American hero,” Sokol says. I Am a Man | Teaching Tolerance Skip to main content Accessibility A couple of weeks before the strike, workers’ dissatisfaction reached new heights when two men, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were gruesomely killed while on the job. There are about 40 people at I Am a Man Plaza. Office Products Hello, Sign in. New to the exhibit is the Mountaintop Theatre, showing the powerful "Mountaintop" speech, the last one Dr. King gave the evening before he died. : Race, Manhood, and the Civil Rights Movement. I Am A Man: Memphis Sanitation Strike 1968. has been used as a title for books, plays, and in music and film to assert the rights of all people to be treated with dignity. signs were used to answer the same question. But historian Jason Sokol explains how the strike, which began 50 years ago on February 12, 1968, was ignited by long-smoldering outrage and helped deepen King’s radicalism in the last months … Rev. X. To discuss male issues from a left-wing, egalitarian perspective. “We were fighting for our rights, that’s what we were fighting for. On February 12, 1968, 1,300 Black sanitation workers in Memphis began a strike to demand better working conditions and higher pay. Grade Level. I AM A MAN Plaza, is a large-scale experiential public sculpture commissioned to pay tribute to the members of the pivotal 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A focal point of the Civil Rights Movement, the strike brought Dr. King to Memphis, Tennessee where he was assassinated. The crowd was encouraged to wear all black, the crowd has grown to about 60. The city of Memphis officially unveiled its I Am A Man Plaza on Thursday next to Clayborn Temple, a key rallying point for the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. The protest turned ugly when an outside group infiltrated the marchers and became violent, leading to the death of an African American teenager. Find high-quality I Am A Man Memphis stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Howard Greenberg Gallery. The “I Am A Man” poster was originally designed for the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike. According to the King Institute at Stanford, the strike kicked off successfully with a several-hundred-person sit-in, which led the city council to acknowledge the sanitation workers’ union and support raises. I AM A MAN Scholarship eligibility requirements: All applicants must: • be a current, full-time solid … Today is supposed to be a family day so there are a few children walking around in the small crowd. New videos feature Rev. This cause was well aligned to King’s priorities at the time. The "I am a Man" Plaza is located next to Clayborn Temple, a key rallying point for the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. “I was in every march, all of ’em, with that sign: I AM A MAN,” recalls former sanitation worker Ozell Ueal. 50.8 × 40.6 cm. That night they raised $1,600 to support the Movement. I AM A MAN: Last Applicant/Owner: City Of Memphis 125 N. Main Street Memphis, TN 38103 : Serial Number: 87730884: Filing Date: December 21, 2017: Status: Abandoned-Failure To Respond Or Late Response: Status Date: January 4, 2019 They changed the course of history, not only for solid waste employees in Memphis, but across the nation, as well. Memphis, Tennessee: I Am A Man Plaza - Photo by Logan Young - Check out Tripadvisor members' 42,923 candid photos and videos. One of the last pictures to be taken of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to a mass rally on April 3, 1968 in Memphis. Despite the tragedy, the strike continued, as did smaller demonstrations. This poster was used during the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, D.C., during summer 1968. “Race, Gender, and Labor in 1960s Memphis: ‘I Am a Man’ and the Meaning of Freedom.” Journal of Urban History 30.3 (2004): 465-489. All Rights Reserved. Two Memphis Police cars are watching in the distance. Well, I don't know what will happen now. Filmed 10/10/2003. Nearly two weeks later on April 16, the city agreed to grant raises to African American employees and recognize the workers' union. The I AM A MAN program offers scholarships, mentorships, and teacher preparation … MEMPHIS, Tenn. — "I Am a Man Plaza" is one of the most expensive public art projects ever in Memphis. Protesters marched wearing “I Am A Man” sandwich boards, demanding that they be treated with dignity. 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. Reverend Ralph Jackson charged the crowd to not rest until "justice and jobs" prevailed for all black Americans. Memphis was paying full-time employees a meager minimum wage, then just $1.60 an hour. 3-5 6-8 9-12. These men took a stand against poor working conditions and below-poverty wages. I am a Man, Memphis, Tennessee, 1968. When black sanitation workers in Memphis took to the streets in March 1968, they carried signs emblazoned with their rallying cry, “I AM A MAN.” Those words will be forever etched into the landscape of the Bluff City with the opening of the I AM A MAN Plaza near Clayborn Temple, the site from which those workers marched 50 years ago. “But he was really hated by a segment of the country while he was alive for a while, and that's what set the stage for his death, not necessarily anything specific in Memphis.”. “There were only 2, myself and daddy at the initial stage of the march,” said Andrew Withers. Print. Andrew Withers says there were 4 Withers men capturing the historic “I Am a Man” march. "I AM A MAN," the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike slogan, has become emblematic of African Americans' quest for equality during the civil rights movement; however, its … Today is supposed to be a family day so there are a few children walking around in the small crowd. There’s another walk that started at 3:00 p.m. near Audubon Park. The city of Memphis officially unveiled its I Am A Man Plaza on Thursday next to Clayborn Temple, a key rallying point for the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. James Lawson and T.O. This gallery expands the story of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. Rev. Geoffrey Fletcher has been set to write I Am a Man, a film based on Michael K. Honey's book about the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike New videos feature Rev. New York. by We Are Memphis on 04/20/18. Account & Lists … "I AM A MAN" became the slogan of the Memphis Sanitation Strike and was derived from the ideals seen in the declaration of independence “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Hauling trash, sometimes in the pouring rain, was a taxing and dirty job. .I Teach. I AM A MAN, Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike Sign Mouse Pad: Amazon.ca: Office Products. U.S. National Guard troops block off Beale Street as Civil Rights marchers wearing placards reading, "I AM A MAN" pass by on March 29, 1968. 50 years ago, Memphis sanitation workers went on strike. “I was in every march, all of ’em, with that sign: I AM A MAN,” recalls former sanitation worker Ozell Ueal. Jones, who courageously waged the battle on behalf of striking sanitation workers. Users will witness the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike and the events leading to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. using the Oculus Rift VR headset. When black sanitation workers in Memphis took to the streets in March 1968, they carried signs emblazoned with their rallying cry, “I AM A MAN.” Those words will be forever etched into the landscape of the Bluff City with the opening of the I AM A MAN Plaza near Clayborn Temple, the site from which those workers marched 50 years ago. For More Information. Download premium images you can't get anywhere else. With the slogan, "I am a man," workers in Memphis sought financial justice in a strike that fatefully became Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final cause. Documentary about Dr. Martin Luther King's involvement and the events surrounding the Memphis Sanitation workers strike. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. I AM A MAN seeks to heighten awareness of the contributions made by citizens of our city whose courage and determination boldly changed history, and whose character sits at the heart of the place we call home. The iconic strikers with the "I Am a Man" signs and the garbage truck from the original exhibition are here. The sanitation workers’ movement was “one that was explicitly about the link between economic injustice and racial injustice," says Sokol, so it was "exactly the type of thing that King was working on. James Lawson and T.O. In 1968, Elmore Nickleberry stood among 1,300 other African-American men in Memphis who collectively asserted their right to be treated with dignity. The signs, says Estes, “became a rallying cry for the movement.”. Digitized August 2011. The iconic strikers with the "I Am a Man" signs and the garbage truck from the original exhibition are here. Submitted Green, Laurie B. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? I Am A Man Plaza. The University of Memphis does not discriminate against students, employees, or … Gelatin silver print; printed later. The Worst is Yet to Come, New York, 1966 . Memphis, Tennessee: I Am A Man Plaza - Photo by Logan Young - Check out Tripadvisor members' 42,960 candid photos and videos of Memphis On February 11, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the Memphis Labor Temple, furious with their working conditions. The area features a sculpture along with a wall filled with the names of … The article, written by author and University of Texas assistant professor Laurie B. The workers left the meeting with no organized plan, but a feeling that something had to be don… The efforts finally paid off. The strike also drew Martin Luther King, Jr. and fatefully became the setting for his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech and his assassination. This is the eighth night of protests in Memphis following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In 1968, King was building the Poor People's Campaign to advocate for underprivileged Americans of diverse races. I AM A MAN: The Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike 1968 online exhibit lesson plan template and teaching resources. The Sanitation Workers Strike broadened their efforts to advocate for workers’ rights. 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