- Collection:
- 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike
- Title:
- Rev. James Lawson with picket sign, Memphis, 1968
- Creator:
- Memphis press scimitar
- Date of Original:
- 1968-02-26
- Subject:
- Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tenn., 1968
Strikes and lockouts--Tennessee--Memphis
Sanitation workers--Tennessee--Memphis
Civil rights movements--Tennessee--Memphis
Civil rights--African Americans--Tennessee--Memphis
Civil rights--Tennessee--Memphis
Civil rights demonstrations--Tennessee--Memphis
Memphis (Tenn.)--Race relations
Race relations
Race discrimination--Tennessee--Memphis
Strikes and lockouts--Sanitation--Tennessee--Memphis
Strikes and lockouts--Refuse collectors--Tennessee--Memphis
Police--Tennessee--Memphis
African Americans--Tennessee--Memphis
Protest marches--Tennessee--Memphis
Signs and signboards--Tennessee--Memphis
Picketing--Tennessee--Memphis
African American civil rights workers--Tennessee--Memphis
Civil rights workers--Tennessee--Memphis
African American clergy--Tennessee--Memphis
Clergy--Tennessee--Memphis
Methodists--Tennessee--Memphis
Portable radios--Tennessee--Memphis - People:
- Lawson, James M., 1928-
- Location:
- United States, Tennessee, Shelby County, Memphis, 35.14953, -90.04898
- Medium:
- black-and-white photographs
- Type:
- StillImage
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Black-and-white photograph from February 1968 taken by the Memphis Press-Scimitar newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee. In the photograph, Reverend James Lawson carries a sign with the slogan "King Henry we will not turn back," referring to Memphis mayor Henry Loeb. Several white men in overcoats walk beside Lawson, while a white police officer behind Lawson listens to a radio.
The Memphis Sanitation Workers' strike began on February 11, 1968, following years of dangerous working conditions, discrimination, and the work-related deaths of two African American sanitation workers. Led by local clergy, including Methodist pastor James Lawson, community members engaged in boycotts, mass meetings, marches, and other civil disobedience in support of the strike. The strike ended April 12, 1968.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Local Identifier:
- sc.0475.90012_03.004
- Metadata URL:
- https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-swstrike/102/
- Original Collection:
- 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike, PS 90012, University of Memphis Libraries Special Collections, Memphis, Tennessee
- Contributing Institution:
- University of Memphis. Libraries. Special Collections Department
- Rights:
-
