I AM 2018 Campaign Kick-Off

Thursday morning, Labor leaders from New York City stood with community leaders, members of the City Council, and the broader Labor Movement around the country to kick off the I AM 2018 campaign. The campaign honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorates the lives and work of the sanitation workers who went on strike in Memphis in 1968.

In 1968, Memphis sanitation workers went on strike to demand fair wages and safe working conditions after two men died on the job. That spring, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to join the strikers — members of AFSCME Local 1733 — in solidarity. On April 3, he delivered his prophetic “Mountaintop” speech at the historic Mason Temple, the global headquarters of Church of God In Christ (COGIC). Less than 24 hours later, he was killed.

The I AM 2018 campaign, whose theme is taken from the strikers’ iconic slogan, “I AM A MAN,” will train and mobilize activists to make change in their communities in 2018 and beyond. The initiative will include organizing, community actions and strategic partnerships.
For more information, visit https://iam2018.org/