In 1968, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. joined the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees in a strike of Memphis sanitation workers. King was assassinated in Memphis after speaking at a strike rally. Striking workers ultimately won critical safety and job protections.
Memphis sanitation workers strike in 1968. Photo courtesy Tennessee State MuseumPhotos of the striking workers carrying signs that declared “I Am a Man” became one of the most enduring images of the 1960s civil rights movement.
Painting by Alice Traore, photo courtesy Sharon BjyrdPainting by The Artist, photo courtesy Sharon Bjyrd
Painting by Jerry Jordan, photo courtesy Sharon Bjyrd
Exhibit photo courtesy Madison Public Library
Exhibit photo courtesy Madison Public Library
Exhibit photo courtesy Madison Public Library
Exhibit photo courtesy Madison Public Library
That declaration, “I Am a Man” has inspired Madison area artist Sharon Bjyrd to curate a new multimedia art exhibit, now on display at the Goodman South Madison Library. Sharon Bjyrd joined the Monday Eight o’Clock Buzz by phone, along with playwright Charles Payne, whose work “Da Classroom Ain’t Enuf” is also featured in the exhibit. Payne was also a guest on the Monday Buzz last April when the Broom Street Theater presented “Da Classroom Ain’t Enuf.”
Sharon Bjyrd (left) and Charles Payne. Photos courtesy Sharon Bjyrd.
The exhibit, “I Am a Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men” runs at the Goodman South Madison Library through the end of February. It’s free and open to the public during normal library hours.
Exhibit photo courtesy Madison Public LibraryWeb posting by WORT producer Nicholas Wootton
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