Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

The Sanitation Strike of 1968

This picture book tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination - when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest.

In February 1968, two African American sanitation workers were killed by unsafe equipment in Memphis, Tennessee. Outraged at the city's refusal to recognize a labor union that would fight for higher pay and safer working conditions, sanitation workers went on strike. The strike lasted two months, during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was called to help with the protests. While his presence was greatly inspiring to the community, this unfortunately would be his last stand for justice. He was assassinated in his Memphis hotel the day after delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon in Mason Temple Church. Inspired by the memories of a teacher who participated in the strike as a child, author Alice Faye Duncan reveals the story of the Memphis sanitation strike from the perspective of a young girl with a riveting combination of poetry and prose.

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Booklist Editors’ Choice

Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book

Booklist Top 10 Diverse Books for Middle Grade or Older Readers

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books

Praise

"(A) history that everyone should know: required and inspired."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

Booklist, starred review

"The book could be read many times and new information would be discovered with each new reading."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

School Library Connection, starred review

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

Shelf Awareness, starred review

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

School Library Journal, starred review

"Duncan writes in fervent free verse … (the) narrative is passionate and personal."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

Publishers Weekly

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop

The Sanitation Strike of 1968

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Praise

"(A) history that everyone should know: required and inspired."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"The book could be read many times and new information would be discovered with each new reading."

"The determination of the characters and the import of this part of history are imbued with dignity throughout."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

"Duncan writes in fervent free verse … (the) narrative is passionate and personal."

"(A)n inspiring account in which a heroic campaign lost its leader but nevertheless marched on to victory."

"A superbly written and illustrated work. A first purchase for public and school libraries."

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