The U.S. District Court and the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike

In commemoration of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the U.S. District Court held two panel discussions related to City of Memphis v. King, litigation over Dr. King's right to march with striking sanitation workers.

The injunction hearing took place on April 4, 1968. The Court's decision, denying the City's request for an injunction, was delivered to Dr. King late in that afternoon, shortly before he was killed by an assassin's bullet.

Linked below are video recordings of the panel discussion, featuring attorneys who represented the City of Memphis and Dr. King, and witnesses for Dr. King at the injunction hearing.

Welcome
Chief U.S. District Judge S. Thomas Anderson

Opening Remarks
U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman
U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes

At the River I Stand - movie clip

The Lawyers: A Panel Discussion
For the Plaintiff, City of Memphis:
Frierson Graves, Sr., Esq.

For the Defendants, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., et. al.:
Walter L. Bailey, Jr., Esq.
W. J. Michael Cody, Esq.
Charles F. Newman, Esq.

Moderator: The Honorable Bernice B. Donald,
U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

The Witnesses for Dr. King
Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young, Jr.
The Reverend James Morris Lawson, Jr.

Moderator: Professor Otis L. Sanford,
University of Memphis Department of Journalism and Strategic Media

Closing Remarks
U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes