A Man I Am: Saga of Sanitation Strikers in Memphis

By Rev. Dr. Michael O. Hollowell I

This book chronicles the 1968 sanitation strike in Memphis that led to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sanitation employee T.L. Jones was the catalyst behind the strike with a major objective of acquiring a union. After two sanitation workers were crushed to death, efforts for change mounted. The saga of this strike catapulted an entire city in turmoil that reached epic proportions. A segment of the book implements a meta-analysis from research by scholars. Also, the author incorporates a comparative analysis between the current Mayor and the former Mayor Henry Loeb. A final segment honors 20 Memphians that have significantly contributed to the success of the city. Among these includes famed photographer Ernest Withers, singer and actor Isaac Hayes, queen of soul Aretha Franklin and Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, former president of the NAACP.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796099645

Rev. Dr. Michael O. Hollowell I

Rev. Dr. Michael O. Hollowell is a veteran classroom teacher with 35 years of service. Proud husband of 42 years to Riviera R. Hollowell and dad of 4 children: Ashia, Michael, II, Jarvis,and Monique; grandad of 8. Dr. Hollowell is a licensed and ordained Baptist minister. He is the Curator of the Mountaintop Collection Exhibit that consists of over 4000 items of memorabilia that recaptures the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Hollowell received a Bachelors from the University of Memphis, a Masters and ABD from the University of Mississippi, and a Doctorate from Ecumenical Theological Seminary.

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Copyright © 2020 by Rev. Dr. Michael O. Hollowell, I.

ISBN:      Hardcover        978-1-7960-9965-2

                Softcover          978-1-7960-9963-8

                eBook              978-1-7960-9964-5

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

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Rev. date: 04/29/2020

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1    Historical Implications

Chapter 2    A Man I Was

Chapter 3    I Am Memphis

Chapter 4    I Am A Man

Chapter 5    A Man I Am

Chapter 6    A Tale Of Two Mayors: Loeb & Strickland

Chapter 7    A Conversation Between Black Men

References

I can do all things through Christ, the Black

Messiah who gives me strength.

(Phil.4:13/AAV—African American Version)

DEDICATION

T HANK GOD THIS book is dedicated to all of the striking sanitation workers that endured the struggles as they mounted a campaign against the most deplorable conditions ever endured on a public job. We salute the relentless efforts of these so-called garbage men that stood up for justice, fairness, equality, and freedom. This particular freedom was manifested in their freedom to make a decent wage in the inhumane working conditions without succumbing to threats and intimidation from their superiors. Despite the fact that these men were viewed by society as boys, they took a stand to affirm their natural rights by letting the established order know that I AM A MAN. We salute their courage, we salute their tenacity, we salute their forthrightness, and we salute their determination to make life better for themselves and for their families. Hopefully, this book will give tribute to a set of men in history that made a difference in their communities, their families, and the entire city of Memphis, Tennessee. We dedicate this book to the necessary momentum that was generated by this group of public employees that demanded a change. These men exhibited limitless activities in their attempts to challenge the status quo in the Memphis political stratosphere. What is most commendable is their organizational style that created momentum throughout this entire pernicious process. So called common men, stood up for what they believed in and for what they desired to make enormous improvements in their quality of lives. This type of change was not welcomed by the political structure, but the sanitation workers stood firm and strong in their demands. Given the racial climate that existed not only in Memphis, but in all southern municipalities, the sanitation strikers in Memphis are to be applauded for standing up against the most perilous repercussions that any public employees ever faced. Also, the air of uncertainty was ever-present as the dynamics of the strike were changing on a constant basis. However, one major constant displayed by the striking sanitation workers was their unwavering resistance against the powers that be. Cheers, applauds, and kudos, are just a few laurels of commendations for a group of African-American men in Memphis, Tennessee that sought change amidst an antagonistic environment that desired their demise. This book seeks to salute the efforts and the struggles of the sanitation workers for all to pause to appreciate their efforts and their boldness to challenge the established order in a peaceful manner. MAY THE LEGACY OF THE SANITATION WORKERS LIVE ON IN HISTORY.

PREFACE

W HILE AT THE North Branch Library in Memphis, Tennessee, the librarian and I had another very fruitful conversation. Mr. Johnnie Mosley and I for the past 5 years dialogued about a multiplicity of events that have transpired in the media. On this particular occasion we were discussing the sanitation workers. This happens to be one of our favorite topics because Mr. Mosley’s father was a striking sanitation worker that was involved in the strike when Dr. King came to Memphis. We frequently discussed recent events in Memphis that have positively affected the sanitation workers in 2017. Mr. Johnnie Mosley advised me that the city of Memphis recently decided to grant all the surviving sanitation workers a hefty sum of 70,000 dollars. I was amazed and felt this was a mighty fine move on the administration of current mayor Jim Strickland. It is a very precarious time in the political landscape as Strickland was voted into office by a sizeable block of African-American voters. That is an entirely new subject of another literary composition that needs to be elaborated on.

As Mr. Johnnie Mosley and I continued our discussion we began commenting about the literature available regarding the Sanitation Strike in Memphis. I asked Mr. Mosley was there a book ever written about the strike from the sanitation workers point of view. He responded by saying that no book had ever been written or dedicated from the perspective of the striking sanitation workers. Immediately, a light went off in my head as an author that a book of this caliber was well over due. The strike occurred in Memphis some 50 years ago and the main participants have been ignored by historians. Therefore as Mr. Johnnie Mosley and I continued to talk I decided to undertake this literary project with basically two objectives in mind. One objective would be to write a book about the sanitation strike in Memphis from the perspective of the sanitation workers. The second objective would be to dedicate this entire literary project to the striking sanitation workers and their families. A Man I Am is a book that tells the story of the sanitation strike in Memphis, Tennessee from the point of view of the living sanitation workers and their families.

The living sanitation workers are in their 70s and 80s and their offspring are in their 40s and 50s. Hopefully, this book will not only be written to share a side up until now have been virtually ignored, but will illuminate the need for their story to be told. Some of the living sanitation workers include Mr. Baxter Leach, Rev. Cleophus Smith, and Rev. Leslie Moore, and Elmore Nickelberry. Offspring of the deceased sanitation workers include Mr. Johnnie Mosley, whose father was a sanitation worker and Ms. Kay Walker for sanitation union president Taylor Rogers. Dr. Coby Smith’s name was also given to me by librarian Johnny Mosley, which had a personal interest in the strike. I informed Mr. Mosley that I wanted to include as many personal interviews of past and present sanitation workers in this book to give first-hand knowledge of exactly what transpired during the sanitation strike.

A Man I Am is a tribute to the Memphis Sanitation workers that changed the way business was conducted relative to public employees in Memphis, Tennessee. These men that worked as sanitation workers sacrificed lives daily to keep the city of Memphis clean, but were harshly treated by the Mayor along with the City Council in 1968. A Man I Am is a testament to sanitation workers that proclaimed I Am A Man amidst a perilous environment that sought to keep them subservient. A Man I Am is a narrative about a group of brave men that uprooted the political stratum that viewed them as boys. These courageous men are the real heroes of this saga that unfolded and are not the villains that the majority of Memphians perceived them to be.

As the famed expression from a very famous movie line states, these workers let everyone know I am tired as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore. Proclaiming this sentiment was a psychological uplift and very therapeutic because of the deleterious treatment they were exposed to. A man stands for the rights he is entitled to rather than settling for crumbs from the master’s table like little boys. T. L. Jones and the leadership of AFSCME, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, stepped in to assist the public employees in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King once referred to the striking sanitation workers as some of God’s suffering children.

In light of the recent history that was made in Memphis, Tennessee by the Mayor and the City Council, I have decided to add a chapter and rewrite the entire of Table of Contents. Therefore, I have restructured my Table of Contents for the fifth time and hopefully for the last time. The last chapter has been named A Tale of Two Mayors: Loeb & Strickland that will hopefully give the reader a new narrative about Memphis relative to its past, present, and future political landscape. On 9:01, which is the area code for Memphis, in December, two statues were removed from public parks that represented racism, segregation, and Jim Crow. The story will be included in the last chapter of the book to do a comparative analysis of Memphis then and now.

INTRODUCTION

T HE OVERRIDING INTERROGATIVE in the minds of the masses is yet to be fully explained. The question is Why was there a need for a sanitation strike specifically? The next question that probes the minds of the masses is Why was there a need for a civil rights struggle from a general perspective? Despite the fact that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had delivered his historic I Have a Dream speech in 1963, the economic environment for African-Americans was virtually unchanged in 1968. Therefore, from 1963 to 1968, Blacks were still at the bottom of the economic totem pole not only in Memphis, but throughout the South and possibly the entire nation. Not only were the Black sanitation workers considered less than men, but all Black men during this era were looked at as inferior and less than a man. Historically, Black men had been referred to by whites as boy no matter their ages, class, education, or socio-economic status. However, Black Sanitation workers proclaimed, I Am A Man, which was their mantra and battle cry. Black women were referred to as girls while elderly Black men and women were generally referred to as Auntie and Uncles. Uncle Ben rice and Aunt Jemima pancakes are both products that are relics of the past caste racial system that existed in the Southern most parts of the United States. They also represent disrespect, inferiority, white supremacy, discrimination, and above all systematic institutionalized racism.

In Memphis, Tennessee in the year of our Lord 1968, it took those lowest on the rung of the economic ladder of society to stand up and proclaim, I Am a Man. One principle understood in the Jim Crow caste system was the grown Black men and women did not deserve being addressed the title of Mr. and Mrs. because it would somehow imply a certain degree of equality with the White masses. Therefore, even if Black men were much older than Whites, their first names were used as they were addressed by Whites. This alone was a societal slap in the face to our elderly. As God-fearing Christians, our parents always taught us to respect our elders by saying yes sir, yes mam, Mr. and Miss. On the other hand Whites taught the opposite to their children.

As a veteran social studies teacher for over 30 years, my students would always pose the question, Why did the sanitation workers wear a sign saying "I Am A Man? They felt this was a no brainer, but they did not comprehend the social climate that the sanitation workers lived in. They were denied basic human rights that were entitled to every American citizen. These rights included the right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These were basic rights guaranteed to every American except for Black Americans. It took the impetus of the Civil Rights Movement for Blacks to gain these basic human rights.

The students in my class had not been taught that during the era of the sanitation strike that Black Americans were still being denied basic human rights that other Americans were enjoying. Prior to the sanitation strike, the Southern section of this United States was a bastion of racism and discrimination. Only a decade before the launching of the sanitation strike, Blacks were still the last hired and the first fired. Blacks were not allowed to vote in most instances and suffered many obstacles that foiled their attempts to exercise their constitutional right to cast their ballots. Poll taxes, grandfather clauses and other methods were put in place to prevent Blacks from voting. Also, throughout the South Jim Crow laws were passed in most Southern states that placed restrictions on Black Americans. Blacks and Whites could not drink from the same water fountains. There were water fountains labelled, White only and Colored. It was literally against the law for Black Americans to drink from the White only water fountains. If they did by any chance defy the law, they would have risked being arrested, beaten, and even killed.

Another Jim Crow law was established that prevented Black Americans from sitting on the front of the bus. Even though Blacks paid the same bus fare as Whites, they could not sit where they pleased on the city bus. Such laws also applied to other forms of public transportation including the train. When Blacks in Memphis got sick, they could only attend John Gaston hospital for medical emergencies. Also, at John Gaston hospital Blacks and Whites did not use the same waiting room prior to seeing a physician. There were two separate waiting areas: one for Whites only and the other for Colored, which was designated for African-Americans. Such separate facilities reinforced the perceptions of most Whites that Black Americans were inferior and even sub-human. Blacks could not attend Baptist Hospital, Methodist Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, and other major hospitals because they were designated for