![]() That was central to his work, and it’s still true today: we can’t have racial justice without economic justice and unions advance the freedom of all working people, but especially communities of color.ĭr. King was there because he believed the labor movement and the civil rights movement shared the same goals and values. ![]() They had gone on strike for better wages and working conditions, to fight for dignity and respect. King was in Memphis 50 years ago to support the city’s African-American sanitation workers (members of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees). And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be.” Let us stand with a greater determination. The night before the tragic shooting that took his life, King famously said: “Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Still, I wanted more answers which never came easily from my parents and grandparents who wanted to raise us free from the fear that kept so many people from living out their lives.Īt a time when people feared for their lives for speaking up against injustice and inequality, Dr. King was murdered, I knew enough from listening to grown folks’ conversations that those in the movement faced danger, including the threat of death. Though I was only eight-years-old when Dr. Before I could start to pray, I wanted my Grandma to explain what had happened and who would have killed such a man of peace. When she turned down the radio, Grandma asked us to get on our knees to pray. There, she summoned us to be quiet while she listened to news being broadcast on WBOK AM radio. ![]() My Grandma Frances, who was born 22 years after the end of slavery and had lived most of her life in Mississippi and Louisiana, was home waiting for me and my siblings to walk through the door Growing up in the segregated south, I remember the day he was murdered. On Wednesday, April 4, we commemorate the life, legacy and contributions of Dr.
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