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In remembrance of the 50 year anniversary, we look back on the year of 1968--a year filled with many poignant events on US history. To kick off the year, one of these poignant events was a garbage truck incident where 2 black garbage truck workers were crushed to death by the trash compactor on the back of the garbage truck as a result of that space being the only source of shelter from intense rain these black workers were allowed. Their clothing got caught in the opening of the compactor and led to their untimely death.
What happened?
Memphis sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker are crushed to death by a malfunctioning garbage truck.
When did this happen?
February 1968
Where did this happen?
Memphis, Alabama
Why did this happen?
“Garbage packers”, there was intense wind & rain on the day, and the only shelter they had was with the garbage, the garbage compacting truck. The compactor was activated, the operator not knowing these 2 men took shelter. City rules allowed sanitation workers only the back of the garbage truck to get out of the rain
How did this affect others?
Black garbage & sewer workers went on strike because of the discrimination, poor pay, and working conditions
What AFTER:
Mayor Loeb brought in white workers & provided police workers
2-month strike “I am a Man”, supported by Martin Luther King Jr.
MLKJ was assassinated while protesting for the sanitation workers
History:
Throughout the early 19th century, harsh working conditions have been a rising issue, as muckraking journalists were calling attention to such things. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire occurred, where the factory owners locked the women workers inside to keep production going and prevent the women from slacking, so when the fire was accidentally ignited, women were unable to escape, resulting in their tragic deaths. Like this incident and the garbage truck incident of 1968, both events were a result of poor work conditions and poor treatment of workers. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was an event that should have opened the eyes of the country to call for reform, yet we see from this garbage truck incident that the country repeats the past with prevailing harsh work conditions.
Today:
Contributed to the worker conditions & policies for not only blacks, but for every race
Links & Resources:
Source #1:
Conover, Joshua Rashaad McfaddenTed. “The Strike That Brought MLK to Memphis.”Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Jan. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/revisiting-sanitation-workers-strike-180967512/.
Source #2:
Dan. “February 11, 1968: Garbage Men Crushed in Truck Leads to Memphis Sanitation Strike!” History and Headlines, History and Headlines, 11 Feb. 2016, www.historyandheadlines.com/february-11-1968-garbage-men-crushed-truck-leads-strike/.
Source #3
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00236560050009914?journalCode=clah20
Estes, Steve. "" I am a man!": Race, masculinity, and the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike." Labor History 41.2 (2000): 153-170.
Source #4:
https://faculty.washington.edu/mhoney/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/washingtonpost_goingdown.pdf
Honey, Michael. "Going Down Jericho Road." The Memphis strike, Martin Luther King’s last campaign. New York and London: WW Norton & Company (2007).
Source #5:
https://search.proquest.com/openview/21efa3dce61c479a873d8fce7790e65a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1816463
Kheel, Theodore W. "Strikes and Public Employment." Michigan Law Review 67.5 (1969): 931-942.
Source #6:
http://mid-southtribune.com/I%20See%20the%20Promised%20Land%20by%20MLK.pdf
King Jr, Martin Luther. "I see the promised land." A testament of hope: The essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr (1968): 279-86.
Source #7:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/memphis-sanitation-workers-strike
“Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike.” King Encyclopedia | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 12 Feb. 1968, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/memphis-sanitation-workers-strike.
Source #8:
http://storyboardmemphis.com/witnesses-to-history/garbage-truck-kills-2-crewmen/
StoryBoard Memphis. (2018). "Garbage Truck Kills 2 Crewmen" - StoryBoard Memphis. [online] Available at: http://storyboardmemphis.com/witnesses-to-history/garbage-truck-kills-2-crewmen/ [Accessed 7 Jun. 2018].
Source #9:
Thomas, Wendi C. "Great Divide." Commercial Appeal, 06 Apr, 2014, pp. 1. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.