Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Hours (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Hours Elizabeth Bush Bausum, Ann . Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Hours. National Geographic, 2012. 104p. illus. with photographs Library ed. ISBN 978-1-4263-0940-3 $28.90 Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4263-0939-7 $19.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4263-0945-8 $19.99 R* Gr. 6-9. In this riveting account of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, Bausum adroitly handles both the labor action itself—born of institutionalized racial injustice within the public works system and the tragic deaths of two African-American workers in a faulty compactor—and what would be the final civil rights action of Dr. King's storied career. Bausum brings readers onboard with a gagworthy introduction to garbage in the 1960s, before plastic trash-can liners, before curbside pickup, before ready-to-eat scrap-free meals. She then turns to the African-American workers who accepted these lowest-rung, lowest-paid, dangerous sanitation jobs, and to the ploys to cut back their already minimal pay. With the stage set for the strike itself and the initially reluctant support of the union, the focus shifts to follow King's involvement, as he hoped the national focus on labor injustice would draw attention to his broader plans for an attack on poverty itself as the next great civil rights issue. Bausum discusses with objectivity and compassion the way grassroots action in Memphis surged ahead of King's organization, and how younger activist groups such as the Invaders, impatient with the nonviolent approach of the old guard, condoned (or at least empathized with) the rioting and looting into which [End Page 339] peaceful marches devolved. Although the Sanitation Workers' story would have a relatively happy ending, with union recognition, pay raises, and institutional reforms, the Memphis Campaign would end tragically with King's assassination and the splintering of his organization among leaders with divergent strategies and agendas. Clearly organized and densely illustrated, this title includes features such as an introductory "cast of characters," an annotated timeline of the strike, and a list of King's campaigns from 1955 through 1968 to help untangle a complex set of intertwined events. A resource guide, bibliography, citations list, and index are also included. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois