I AM STORY

SNEAK PEEK: I AM STORY

In 1968, sanitation workers in Memphis took a stand against degrading and deadly working conditions.   They declared a strike that would lead to a movement that would shake the nation.  The I AM STORY podcast tells the story of the sanitation workers who dared to declare: I AM A MAN.  Learn more at http://www.IAMSTORY.com

INTRODUCING THE I AM STORY PODCAST

In 1968, two Memphis sanitation workers, Robert Walker and Echol Cole, were crushed to death in the back of their truck, a horrific accident that was the result of shocking negligence by city leaders.   The workers had raised a red flag that trucks in the fleet were unsafe. But the city didn't recognize their union and had no incentive or inclination to make changes.  This tragedy ignited one of the most courageous worker actions in American history: a two-month strike by the city's entire sanitation workforce.   The signs they carried said it all, four words so powerful in their simplicity: I AM A MAN. The strike drew the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would join the sanitation workers' fight — in what would be his last campaign.  This is the I AM Story Podcast.  Learn more at IAMSTORY.com 

PREVIEW: The strike that shook the nation

In 1968, Memphis sanitation workers went on strike – for dignity, for respect, for recognition of their basic humanity. Courageously, they declared: I AM A MAN. The strike would draw together the labor movement and the civil rights movement in a way that changed the course of history. The I AM STORY Podcast revisits this struggle, telling the story of this strike and everything that happened next. Learn more at IAMSTORY.com 

The Breaking Point

In 1968, Memphis sanitation workers faced dangerous and degrading conditions on the job. The mayor showed the men no respect, paying them poverty wages and refusing to recognize their union. During a driving rainstorm on February 1, Robert Walker and Echol Cole were crushed to death as they sought shelter in the back of their sanitation truck, a horrific accident that was the result of shocking negligence by city leaders. That was the breaking point.

I Am A Man

In the wake of the deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers went on strike. The men were demanding safer working conditions and basic respect for the services they provided. But Mayor Henry Loeb dug in, refusing to recognize their union or even talk to the workers. When a peaceful demonstration elicits a violent response from Mayor Loeb's police force, it becomes clear exactly what the strikers are up against. The city's hostility brings local churches, students and civic leaders into the struggle. Rev. James Lawson, a leading advocate of nonviolent resistance, emerges as a chief strategist, organizing sit-ins, daily marches and arrests. And the greatest civil rights leader of the time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., comes to Memphis to lend his voice to the fight.    This episode features AFSCME President Lee Saunders, exclusive interviews with Rev. Lawson, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus Bill Lucy and historian Michael Honey, along with archival audio from Dr. King, Rev. Gilbert Patterson, AFSCME official P.J. Ciampa, Ezekiel Bell, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and Rev. William Maxwell Blackburn.