Primary Sources: Civil Rights in America - Events: Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike (1968)

Memphis, Tennessee - April 3, 1968

Includes various video and audio sources related to the strike.

"Collection of oral histories conducted or filmed by the Crossroads to Freedom team of Rhodes College. In these interviews members of the Memphis community discuss a range of topics including Stax Records, the Civil Rights Movement, the life and assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, education, integration, race relations, and local neighborhood histories. "

Online exhibit that includes primary source items.

"The LeMoyne-Owen Collection consists of reflections written by students enrolled in Professor Michael P. Johnson’s History 202 and 204 classes at LeMoyne-Owen College in the spring of 1968. Many of the students were eye-witnesses to the events that took place in Memphis during the Sanitation Workers’ Strike. According to Professor Johnson, these reflections “represent history in its roughest form, direct and unedited statements of personal experiences.” The reflections provide unique insight into the events that took place that day, and which led to the return of Martin Luther King, Jr. before his untimely death on April 4th, 1968. "

" Summary: William Lucy discusses his role in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in the 1960s, especially how he and the union supported the 1968 sanitation workers' strike in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1966 Lucy started to work for AFSCME in Washington, D.C., as the Associate Director of the Department of Legislation and Community Affairs. Lucy explains AFSCME's support of the Civil Rights Movement, especially the push to expose the economic exploitation of African Americans. Lucy narrates the events of the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis, discusses the involvement of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and describes the union's strategies. Lucy also discusses his involvement in the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and the Free South Africa Movement."

"This video features Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Mountaintop' speech from 1968."

"This speech is given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at Mason Temple Rally. He supports the members of the Sanitation Workers Strike and emphasizes the importance of their efforts."

Exhibit includes access to online primary source materials.

"Collection of interviews and news broadcasts covering Martin Luther King's assassination, the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike, and other civil rights related news and events. Audio collected by the Memphis Search for Meaning Committee from 1968-1973."

Images and documents related to the strike.

"Striking Voices is a multimedia journalism project centered around in-depth,​ ​video interviews with some of the Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968, and their wives, sons and daughters."