Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Elmore Nickleberry, who told the world he was a man during the Memphis sanitation strike of ’68, dies at 92

Elmore Nickleberry

From –  NABJ Black News & Views
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News

History maker Elmore Nickleberry, one of the last living participants in the Memphis sanitation strike that drew the support of Martin Luther King, has died. He was 92.

The striking workers, nearly all of them Black, withstood maggots and trash sliding underneath their clothing, being called “boy,” profoundly low pay and carrying tubs of trash of up to 40 pounds on their backs. Nickleberry once told a reporter that he smelled so bad at the end of his shift that he would forego the bus and walk six miles home. 

The 65-day walkout ended in a major civil rights and labor victory, but, sadly, also contributed to King’s death at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Nickleberry retired at 86, and did so only after Memphis reached a settlement with the remaining strikers, who received $50,000 each. Learn more about him and his life.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
ADVERTISEMENT

News Video

IMM Mask Promos

I Messenger Media Radio Shows

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

News

By Dorothy J. GentrySports Editor Photos: Dallas Wings A month after missing the playoffs and firing its head coach, the Dallas Wings on Friday...

News

Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), 2nd Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement in response to racist text...

News

The Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships in Dallas hosted a star-studded Celebrity Pickleball Showdown, bringing together top athletes from multiple sports. NFL legends like Adrian...

Obit

BARBARA JEAN MOSLEY Barbara Jean Mosley, a cherished soul, was born on August 6, 1951, and transitioned peacefully on October 16, 2024, in Dallas,...

Advertisement