Answering our Big Questions
After engaging with all four parts of this inquiry, students should be able to draw conclusions and communicate their findings (C3 Inquiry Arc, Dimension 4). Pose the following overarching questions to students:
How does the Memphis Sanitation Strike change or challenge what we know about Martin Luther King Jr.?
How did Black sanitation workers and their community work together to make change during the Memphis Sanitation Strike?
What does the Memphis Sanitation Strike teach us about the relationship between economic and racial injustices?
Students should each choose one question to focus on and should complete a summative activity to communicate their findings. Students may do this through a published piece of writing, a digital presentation, an oral presentation, a video, a piece of artwork, or any other avenue of their choosing.
Responding to Quotes
Choose one of the following quotes and respond to the quote in 2-3 paragraphs.
"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress...The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome." (King, Memphis, 1968)
"So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity, and it has worth." (King, Memphis, 1968)