Renewing King's fight for black justice

[struggle4progress]

The 45th anniversary of MLK's support for the sanitation workers is a reminder gaps remain
Martin Luther King III, Lee Saunders and Al Sharpton
7a.m. EDT April 4, 2013

On Feb. 1, 1968, two Memphis sanitation workers named Echol Cole and Robert Walker were killed while on a truck that everyone knew was dangerous. But the workers had no power to demand safety on the job or to fight back in any way. As black men, they had known unjust treatment and racism all their lives. The disrespect they faced on their jobs was an extension of that, something they'd grown accustomed to, but never accepted.

The deaths, however, galvanized the sanitation workers. Individually, they recognized they were powerless. But collectively, they had the power to halt an essential city service, persuade Martin Luther King Jr. to join their cause and awaken the nation to injustice. With "I am a man" signs held high, the sanitation workers of AFSCME Local 1733 marched forward, not realizing how their journey would challenge -- and change -- America ...

It's true that we have made genuine progress since 1968. But for too many of us, especially people of color, decent jobs are hard to find, and the freedom to pursue our dreams is limited by the realities of poverty and hunger, sub-par educational opportunities and lack of access to good health care.

At the time of the Memphis strike, these conditions were common for black and brown people. King was in the middle of planning his Poor People's Campaign. Some advisers told him not to go to Memphis because it would distract him from the campaign. But King understood that the strikers' cause represented what his work was all about ...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/04/04/king-saunders-sharpton-on-sanitation-worker-anniversary/2043613/

[struggle4progress]

1. Marchers in Memphis remember civil rights leader

Apr. 4, 2013 11:29 AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — City officials have dedicated a portion of Beale Street in memory of sanitation workers, whose strike brought the late Martin Luther King Jr. to the city where he was assassinated.

The dedication of "1968 Strikers Lane" took place Thursday morning on the 45th anniversary of King's death.

King was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers strike when he was killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.

After the street naming, participants began a march from the local headquarters of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to the National Civil Rights Museum, which was built on the site of the old Lorraine Motel ...

http://www.thenewsstar.com/viewart/20130404/NEWS01/130404010/Marchers-Memphis-remember-civil-rights-leader-

[bigtree]

2. listened to an NPR broadcast today

. . . of an 81 yr. old sanitation worker who is still driving a truck. He makes about $16 an hour today and credits the union; without which, he says, he'd be much worse off. He acknowledged that he still had no pension and that the city was moving to privatize his job and he'd likely be forced out. 'I'll probably go back to trimming lawns and cutting hedges . . . " he told NPR.