Which 1968 labor protest by Black workers became a major civil-rights campaign in Memphis?

The Memphis sanitation strike was the 1968 labor protest by Black sanitation workers that became a major civil-rights campaign.

The workers walked out on February 12, 1968, demanding safer working conditions, better wages, and recognition of their union. Two workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, had been crushed by malfunctioning garbage trucks, helping galvanize the strike. The workers also sought respect and protection from discriminatory employment practices.

Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to support the strikers and linked their demands to his Poor People’s Campaign. He delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple on April 3, 1968.

King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel the next day. The strike continued and ended in April after city officials agreed to recognize the union and improve conditions.