MEMPHIS, Tenn. — One of the last people to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 passed away Sunday, according to a verified GoFundMe page.
Cleophus Smith died at the age of 82. He was one of the last strikers to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1968 Memphis sanitation worker's strike, made famous by their mantra "I Am A Man," which Memphians can still see on the side of some City of Memphis garbage trucks.
“Our hearts are heavy for the family of Cleophus Smith. His stand for justice and equality, alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, helped elevate the plight of the sanitation worker to a national audience. His brave actions helped to change the way the City of Memphis treated its employees, as well as influencing workplaces across the world. ”
The 1968 sanitation worker's strike in Memphis lasted more than two months after predominantly Black sanitation workers went on strike demanding higher wages and safe working conditions, as well as recognition of their union.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last public speech in Memphis during the strike on April 3, 1968, being assassinated the following evening at the Lorraine Motel, which is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.
Nearly two weeks later, the strike was resolved with pressure from the federal government, with the City of Memphis agreeing to issues raised by the strikers.
As late as 2018, the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, Smith, by then a civil rights activist himself, was still driving his garbage truck.
