“I Am a Man”
This photo taken by Builder Levy is title, “I Am a Man” taken in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The “I Am a Man” phrase is a declaration of civil rights, used as a personal statement against oppression. I found this image when searching the most influential images of the Civil Rights Movement and this was one of them that caught my eye because I had never seen this sign before. Hundreds of people flooded the streets with these signs and made their message very clear to the public during this time. This photo taken by Levy is one of the most significant during the Civil Right Movement because it was taken when the black sanitation workers went on strike in Memphis in the spring of 1968. Their signs read “I Am a man” in their fight for economic equality and this strike was the main reason why Martin Luther King Jr. was visiting Memphis when he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. The 1300 black sanitation workers walked off their job to protest because of the poor treatment, dangerous working conditions, and the horrifying recent deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker. This image by Levy shows ten black men standing in a line holding their “I Am a Man” signs all but two looking at the camera almost in disgust. Their facial expressions show a lot to me, the chin up, stare face is somewhat powerful and intimidating, which is what they are trying to do I think. This picture was taken in a time where African-Americans were righting for equal rights and this was one of many strikes put together in America. Eventually things came together and we were able to agree to equality, but not before a lot of hatred and violence occurred in these years of Civil Rights Movements.
http://www.denverpost.com/lalife/ci_14114217?source=rss