Reverend Cleophus Smith, the last surviving participant of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike, has died, according to a statement from family members. He was 82.
Smith died on Sunday, Sept. 29, according to a Facebook post by the family. Arrangements were still pending at deadline.
Smith was among the 1,300 sanitation workers who went on strike to protest unsafe working conditions, racial discrimination, and low wages—a movement that drew the support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and became a cornerstone of the fight for workers’ rights.
Mayor Paul Young expressed his condolences, stating, “His stand for justice and equality… helped change the way the City of Memphis treated its employees, as well as influencing workplaces across the world.”
Born and raised in Memphis, Smith worked as a sanitation worker when the deaths of two colleagues in a garbage truck incident sparked outrage, leading to the strike. Carrying signs that read “I Am A Man,” Smith and his fellow workers demanded fair treatment, eventually leading to improved working conditions and wage increases after a tense 65-day strike.
“I was 24 years old when I started. But back then, it was a different ball game,” Smith told The New York Times in 2018. “Back then, the working condition, it was unbearable.
“After three weeks, when I got my first check, I broke down and cried. We were working full time. And at the same time, the wages were so low, we was qualified to get food stamps,” he continued. “We were determined that we was going to get a union organized, that we would see justice. We were striking about the wages, fair treatment and dignity.”
Smith was at Mason Temple on April 3, 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his mountaintop speech. “Everybody was just jubilated, ust excited, not knowing the next day would be a day of silence,” he told The Times.
But it was Dr. King who inspired Smith’s own ministry, he said.
“I really had a lot of animosity. I came from the streets. I was a street thug,” Smith told The Times. “Dr. King was the one that taught me, through his humility and his leadership. I said, that’s the way I’d like to be.”
Ordained as a minister after the strike, Rev. Smith continued advocating for social justice, ensuring the legacy of the movement lived on through his work with labor organizations and his speaking engagements.
As recently as November 2021, Smith was on the picket lines in Memphis, striking with workers at Kellogg. He even wore an “I AM A MAN” shirt.
“If we made it happen in 1968, we can do it again today,” he said at the time.
His story of resilience and leadership has been preserved in various civil rights commemorations, including speaking at events at the National Civil Rights Museum.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support funeral expenses and honor Rev. Smith’s enduring legacy. Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced at a later date.
For more information and to contribute, visit Rev. Cleophus Smith’s GoFundMe page.
