20 THEWHOLETRUTH
AFSCMEandCOGIC fought
sohardagainst five
decades
earlier.
Inorder
for change to trulyoccur,wemust
remindourselvesofKing’swords,
to rededicateourselves to riseupand
makeAmericawhat it ought tobe.
On the50thanniversary
of hisdeath,wewill celebrateDr.
King’s legacy, renewour commit-
ment tohisvision, and train future
leaders toaccelerateourfight for
economic justiceandcivil reform.
PresidingBishopCharles
E. Blake, Sr. stated, “It is almost
inconceivable that even 50 years
beyondDr.King’s death,wewould
King didn’t live long
enough to ever get there, and his
deathwas a devastating setback in
thefight for civil rights. The night
before he passed, Kingwas rally-
ing a group of strikingAmerican
Federation of State, County&
Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
sanitationworkers inMemphis,
telling them to rise up and “make
Americawhat it ought to be.”
Theworkers’protests
against unfairwages and lack-
luster safety centered on four
iconicwords: IAMAMAN. The
slogan’smeaningwas clear:work-
ers, people of color, and all those
marginalized in society deserved
to be treatedwithdignity and re-
spect -- asmen, aswomen and as
human beings.
Fifty years after that fate-
fulApril evening,much ofKing’s
vision ofAmerica as a “Promised
Land” is still unrealized and under
attack.
If Kingwere alive
in2018, hisview from
themountaintop
wouldbe an America
that is plagued bymany
of thesocial andeconomic
inequalities that he,
