Back in 2018 I introduced a group of students from A. Maceo Walker Middle School to surviving members of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. Like those children, I had yet to be born when those men and their co-workers protested for justice, fair treatment and equality for Black men within the Memphis sanitation department. We all listened to how their story shaped not just Memphis but the entire nation. Their strike inspired a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The strikers' marched the Memphis streets in unison with signs displaying their slogan, I Am A Man. King was killed in Memphis during one of his visits in support of the workers. Shortly after his death the strike ended with the city agreeing to a settlement with the workers; providing them with pay increases and acknowledging union status for them. It was a true symbol of the power of activism and unity in the face of the hypocrisy, democracy at work.

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I thought it was important for students to hear from those men who faced evil and danger and yet refused to back down. Judging by their engagement with the strikers, the students appreciated the history lesson.

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Sometimes the world needs to be reminded, I Am A Man. Years later in March 2025, through the use of executive orders, the President of the United States began removing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from federal government. Memphis was caught in the ripple, as the city dropped the Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion and announced the city government would comply with new state laws and the President's executive orders. The words diversity, equity and inclusion were removed from city government titles, websites and projects. It also signaled the end of the Minority Women Business Enterprise programs.

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Although local government had not requested it, in September 2025 the President announced he would send the National Guard and federal agents to help reduce crime in Memphis. He made good on his promise to do so with the creation of the Memphis Safe Task Force which many citizens opposed.

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In the middle of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, during the No-Kings Protests in Memphis I felt the wave of determination growing from our citizens . And wasn't about who people were protesting, but the fact they were exercising their right to peacefully assemble and make their grievances heard. I saw what democracy looked like up close and personal. Age, race, gender, religion, sexual preference...none of that mattered. What did matter was people uniting together for a common goal. Democracy.

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I wasn't actively seeking or thinking of a slogan when an idea came to me from no doubt above. At the time I didn't do anything about it. Later I went to find paper and pen to see what it would look like written out. It looked and felt meaningful. It was paying homage to those Sanitation Workers of the past while at the same time promoting civic pride and protecting democracy and equality in the 21st century. "I Am A MemphiAN" was formed. It connects us with the spirit of those brave strikers in 1968 to today's local torchbearers. I felt that connection when people showed up to protest the xAI supercomputers in the Boxtown neighborhood of Memphis. I also felt it when Memphis library workers fought for civil service status.

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I'm feeling it now as MemphiANs have taken to the streets and the courts to stop the redrawing of the congressional district map in Memphis. And who knows, maybe some of those middle school children, who sat in on that session with those former sanitation workers and are now adults, have joined the fight. Yes, THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE, then, now and forever.

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- Griff

I Am A MemphiAN apparel

GriffEye Photography

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