I Am a Man: Sanitation Workers' Strike, Memphis, Tennessee

Date

1968

Creator

This photograph depicts the sanitation workers gathering at Clayborn Temple early in the afternoon of March 28, 1968, before their march to downtown Memphis, carrying placards inspired by [Rev. James M.] Lawson's words: "I AM A MAN." Withers was deeply committed to this demonstration and had obtained the circular saw with which organizers had cut wood into the sticks supporting the picket signs. He photographed the demonstrators, all ages, shapes and sizes, varied in their dress and deportment. One man, on the left, tries to organize the group. Others in distant rows behind raise their placards high to make sure they are seen, revealing the size of the crowd. The perception of their number is increased by the photographer's viewpoint and the linear perspective suggested by the angled sides of the composition. This is the record of an event, not a group portrait. The workers project a serious mood, but their attitude is cordial, not threatening, suggestive of a social gathering rather than a combative rally. The enduring impact of this image comes from the fact that these workers has to declare their humanity in the Jim Crow era of institutionalized disadvantages for African Americans in the South. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)