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In February, 1968, Memphis clergyman James Lawson , informed Martin Luther King about the sanitation workers’ dispute in the city.
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In February, 1968, Memphis clergyman James Lawson , informed Martin Luther King about the sanitation workers’ dispute in the city. Over 90% of the 13,000 sanitation workers in Memphis were black. Men were often sent home by management during working hours and this resulted in them losing pay. Much of the equipment they used was old and in a bad state of repair. The dispute began when two sanitation workers, Echole Cole and Robert Walker were killed by a malfunctioning “garbage packer” truck. There was no company insurance scheme and the men’s families did not receive any compensation except for a month’s pay and a contribution towards funeral expenses.
King’s strategy of linking poverty, civil rights and the Vietnam War seemed to be mirroring the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy . Both men appeared to be seriously threatening the status quo and in that sense were acting as revolutionaries. Recently released FBI files show that during this period J. Edgar Hoover reported to President Johnson that Kennedy and King were working together in order to undermine his presidency. On 28th March, 1968, King led a march from Clayborn Temple to the Memphis City Hall . Although the organisers had ordered the marchers to refrain from any acts of violence, groups of young people ignored the marshals’ instructions and created a great deal of damage to shops on the way to the city hall. A sixteen-year-old boy, Larry Payne, was shot dead by the police who claimed he was a looter. An eyewitness said that Payne had his hands up when shot.
King was convinced that the violence on the march had been caused by government provocateurs. According to Coretta Scott King , her husband returned to Memphis on 3rd April to prepare for a truly non-violent march and to prove SCLC could still carry out a pacifist campaign in Washington. That night King made a speech at the Mason Temple. The I've Been to the Mountaintop speech
From a speech at a church rally given by Martin Luther King, 3 April 1968, about his hopes and fears for the future. Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
After the meeting King and his party were taken to the Lorraine Motel. The following day King was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of the motel. His death was followed by rioting in 125 cities and resulted in forty-six people being killed. 3,000 people were injured King had been struggling to maintain the peaceful nature of the movement as the gulf and inequalities was still great despite all that they had achieved. Two months later, James Earl Ray was arrested in London and extradited to the United States . He pleaded guilty to King’s murder and was sent to jail for ninety-nine years.
Assassination of MLK MLK was visiting Memphis to support black refuge workers who were striking for equal treatment with their white co-workers. King had been struggling to maintain the peaceful nature of the movement as the gulf and inequalities was still great despite all that they had achieved. James Earl Ray, a white racist assassinated MLK, he was shot in the neck as he stood on a hotel balcony and died in hospital soon afterwards. Some people doubt if he was the real killer. The result was outburst of violence. 46 people died, 3,000 people were injured across more than 100 cities.
