February is Black History Month and one of the noteworthy events in African American history is the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike that began Feb. 11, 1968.  It was on that day that, after years of discrimination and injustice, the African American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., began their strike for economic justice and dignity. They sought to join AFSCME Local 1733.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. championed the workers’ cause. Two months later, King was gunned down in Memphis as he prepared to lead a massive demonstration with the striking workers.

Click here to see the AFSCME video “I’m a Man” that looks at the strike and King’s murder and includes interviews with the striking workers and here for an excerpt featuring comments from several of the workers honored at a White House ceremony last year.