Cleophus Smith was 24-years-old when he became a sanitation worker in Memphis in the 1960s. Back then, working conditions were “unbearable” and after three weeks, when he got his first check, he broke down and cried. He was making so little money, he was qualified to get food stamps.
During the 1950s and 1960s, garbage removal in Memphis was done mostly by black men, who had few other job options. Not only was the job grueling, but it was also dangerous. In 1968, two men were crushed to death in the jaws of a truck. Afterwards, 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers walked out in protest, The New York Times reports. They wanted to get a union organized and “receive justice.” That brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis to support the strike in 1968 — and that, in turn, brought Smith to march with the civil rights leader.
When Dr. King gave his famous “Mountaintop” speech, everyone was “jubilated and excited.” The next day, Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room. After his death, Memphis recognized the sanitation workers’ union and agreed to a wage increase, as well as other benefits.
“We got what we wanted, but at the same time, lost our great leader,” said Smith. The sanitation veteran says that he came from the streets and was a “street thug” but Dr. King taught him through his humility and leadership, and Smith decided to model his life on his hero’s example. Today, unionized Memphis solid waste workers make an average of $17 an hour.
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