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