M
January 9, 2008
a r iin
L
uther
K
in g
J r .
Page B 17
200<S s p e c ia l e d itio n
ARE YOU?
On March 14,1968, Memphis State University students supporting the Memphis strikers con
front Mayor Henry Loeb. The strike was the last campaign for justice taken up by Martin Luther
King Jr. before his assassination.
Book Chronicles
King's Final Days
Memphis campaign
intertwined civil
and labor rights
Going Down Jericho Road: T he M em phis Strike,
M artin Luther K ing's Last Cam paign tells the story of
a strike w here civil and labor rights becam e inter
twined, and the struggle for justice resulted in some
of the most poignant m om ents of
the 20th century.
M emphis strike to follow the Jericho Road.
By this, he meant that they should follow the
example of the Good Samaritan, who helped
the poor and the needy despite the potential
personal cost to himself.
King said, “The question is not, if I stop to
help this man in need, what will happen to
me?" but “ If I do no stop to help the sanitation
workers, what will happen to them ?”
With all the drama, detail and pacing of a
The deaths of two sanita
tion workers - crushed in the
back of their truck due to
outdated equipment and the
indifference of their white
supervisors-touched off one
of the most significant labor
strikes in the history of the
nation, one that before its
end would rock the planta
tion mentality of a Memphis
government to its core and,
on April 4, 1968, see the
tragic death of King.
Michael K. Honey, pro
fessor of African-American
history and labor studies at
the University of W ashing
ton, untangles the complex
relations and events of 1968
with the passion of one who
TH E M E M P H IS
S T R IK E ,
participated in the movement.
M A R T IN
LUTH ER
K I N G 'S
Going Down Jericho Road
offers a rare combination of
LAST
C A M P A IG N
b ro ad s c h o la rs h ip w ith
grassroots history told by the
people who lived it. Through
Vivid a n d d e ta ile d
- a m a z a ig ' -
Fa», PtuHOtrtpma frown»
countless interviews and ar
chival sources. Honey allows
those who struggled through
those troubled and uncertain
times to speak for themselves.
This is a story about Martin Luther King, novel, Going Down Jericho Road draws us
but it is also a story about the plight of the into the sweep of the forces marshaled against
unemployed and poor people in America who a peaceful solution to the crisis including the
unbending Mayor Henry Loeb, who the day
worked “full-time jobs at part-time wages."
The night before he was assassinated. King after King's death shook hands with clergy
urged those supporting and participating in the demanding a resolution to the strike.
JE R IC H O
ROAD
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