Carrying the Burden: Labor Rights and Civic Responsibilities in the Memphis Sanitation Strike
Building Support and Mounting Tensions
Support:
The strike continued to gain momentum from a number of organizations and individuals. Bayard Rustin and Roy Wilkins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized rallies to spread the purposes of the strike.
”On March 14, Memphis State University students supporting the strikers confronted Mayor Loeb. (Fred Payne, Mississippi Valley Collection).”
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by Dr. King integrated the strike into the broader Civil Rights Movement, calling for institutions to be held accountable for the systematic racism and injustice that had become ingrained in society for centuries.
Local 1733 apology letter. 1968. Photograph. I AM A MAN. https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/iamaman/items/show/154.
“Reverend S. B. ‘Billy’ Kyles took donations in a garbage can at Mason Temple on March 14, when Bayard Rustin and Roy Wilkins spoke. (Jack E. Cantrell, Mississippi Valley Collection)”
On March 14, 1968, the NAACP rallied 9,000 supporters of the strike at the Mason Temple in Memphis, which furthered the momentum of the movement.
“Community on the Move for Equality newsletter,” I AM A MAN, accessed March 18, 2025, https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/iamaman/items/show/165.
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"Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through. When we have our march you need to be there. We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end." Martin Luther King Jr., April 3, 1968
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “I Am A Man: Dr. King & the Memphis Sanitation Strike.” April 4, 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBDgH435oaU.
Increasing Tensions:
Mayor Loeb letter to strikers.1968. Photograph. I AM A MAN. https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/iamaman/items/show/155.
Savali, Kirsten West. 2020. “Episode 1: Our Video Series Shares Never-Been-Told Stories of the Memphis Sanitation Workers.” The Root, July 14. https://www.theroot.com/watch-our-video-series-shares-never-been-told-stories-1822048270.
“[Do you agree with the stand that the Mayor is taking in the Sanitation dispute?] I do, definitely. Well, the more you pet somebody, the more you are going to have to pet them." A Memphis citizen who supported Loeb in Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
When pressure increased, workers and their supporters endured hostility from city officials, including Mayor Loeb, who remained unyielding in his opposition to resolve their grievances. Strikers were also subjected to force by police and city officials, once again highlighting the huge gap between the repressed workers and city officials.
"I would fight any integration order all the way."
Mayor Henry Loeb, 1968
n.a. National Guard.1968. Photograph. I AM A MAN. https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/iamaman/items/show/187.