Useful Links
The 1968 Sanitation Workers' Strike That Drew MLK to Memphis
With the slogan, "I am a man," workers in Memphis sought financial justice in a strike that fatefully became Martin Luther King Jr.'s final cause.
https://www.history.com/news/sanitation-workers-strike-memphis
“I Am A Man” Dr. King and The Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike
https://tnmuseum.org/junior-curators/posts/i-am-a-man-dr-king-and-the-memphis-sanitation-workers-strike?locale=en_us
Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/memphis-sanitation-workers-strike
A guide to teaching about the Sanitation Workers Strike in Memphis
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/sanitation-workers-strike-memphis/
A Time of Crisis: The Sanitation Strike
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/memphis-1968/time-crisis-sanitation-strike
Lessons
Memphis in 1968: The Sanitation Workers' Strike
Essential Questions
In this lesson, students will learn about the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike by first hearing the testimonies of two former workers involved in the strike and then completing a reading that places the men’s stories in a greater historical context. Through reflective journal responses and class discussions, students will grapple with questions about a community’s obligation towards its members and the consequences for individuals and groups who are excluded from community membership. In addition to providing historical context about and testimonies from the Memphis sanitation strike, the activities in this lesson prompt students to think about their own communities, the ways their communities designate who is worthy of respect and dignity, and what can happen when community members don’t feel a sense of obligation towards one another.
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/memphis-1968/memphis-1968-sanitation-workers-strike
Essential Questions
- What are the benefits and responsibilities of belonging to a community?
- How do communities change? How much power do individuals have to change their communities?
- Students will reflect on the communities they belong to and discuss the relationship between identity, dignity, and community membership.
- Students will synthesize information from two Memphis sanitation workers’ testimonies and a related historical reading to propose strategies for creating more inclusive communities.
In this lesson, students will learn about the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike by first hearing the testimonies of two former workers involved in the strike and then completing a reading that places the men’s stories in a greater historical context. Through reflective journal responses and class discussions, students will grapple with questions about a community’s obligation towards its members and the consequences for individuals and groups who are excluded from community membership. In addition to providing historical context about and testimonies from the Memphis sanitation strike, the activities in this lesson prompt students to think about their own communities, the ways their communities designate who is worthy of respect and dignity, and what can happen when community members don’t feel a sense of obligation towards one another.
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/memphis-1968/memphis-1968-sanitation-workers-strike