The Mountaintop The Commercial Appeal

Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to rally the city’s striking garbage workers. He spoke the night of March 18, 1968, before 15,000 people at Mason Temple. King would return to Memphis two more times that spring, losing his life on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where he was shot by a sniper. But his legacy lives on today. Many of the issues that consumed him remain burning issues a half century later: Poverty. Inequality. Oppression.

For more than two months, sanitation workers in Memphis refused to work because of horrid working conditions and meager pay compared to their white colleagues.

The strike brought Martin Luther King Jr. to town and marked significant change in the city of Memphis.

Five men that were on the front lines of the strike — Rev. Leslie Moore, Elmore Nickleberry, Ozell Ueal,Baxter Leach and H.B. Crockett — recall how the strike started, MLK's role, and what their legacy is as the 50th anniversary of King's death approaches.

Written and narrated by Tonyaa Weathersbee
Produced by Jon Garcia

Days before Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the Prairie View A&M choir sang for the civil rights leader in an impromptu performance at the motel. It was a welcome reprieve for King — even if it was just a small one — and a moment the singers never forgot.

50 years later, they've taken the lessons King taught and the experience of meeting him to heart, imparting them on a new generation.

Written and narrated by Marc Perrusquia
Produced by Jon Garcia

Though many things have changed for the better in the 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights fight, there is still much that needs to be done.

The Commercial Appeal's Linda more sits down with Erica Perry, an attorney and spokesperson of Official Black Lives Matter Memphis Chapter, and Dr. Brian Kwoba, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Memphis, to discuss the next chapter of civil rights. What is Black Lives Matter doing that is different than the past, and how does the movement grow moving forward.

Written and narrated by Linda Moore
Produced by Jon Garcia

The Commercial Appeal writers Marc Perrusquia, Linda Moore and Tonyaa Weathersbee sit down to discuss the events of MLK50 in Memphis, what it meant to the city and where the city goes from here.