I've Been to the Mountaintop

On April 3rd, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what would be his final public address, just one day before his assassination. At this critical juncture, the civil rights movement had made significant strides, including the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These legislative victories aimed to dismantle systemic racial segregation and discrimination in America.

In December 1967, King announced the formation of the Poor People’s Campaign, a pivotal shift from focusing solely on racial injustice to addressing broader issues of economic inequality. This initiative was aimed at compelling the federal government to intensify its efforts against poverty. Thus, it represented a radical expansion of the civil rights agenda, encompassing a multiracial coalition to confront systemic economic disparities that affected not only African Americans, but all poor Americans.

King’s involvement in the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike in 1968 was in line with this expanded focus. The strike, initiated by African American sanitation workers, was aimed at achieving fair wages and better working conditions. The strike gained national attention and sympathy when King joined, signifying his commitment to economic justice as an integral part of the broader civil rights struggle.