Most people know that Martin Luther King Jr. gave the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Fewer people know why he was in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. King was in Memphis to support Black sanitation workers who had gone on strike. The workers picked up garbage for the city. They were paid far less than white workers doing the same job. Two Black workers were crushed inside a garbage truck because of broken equipment. More than 1,300 workers walked off the job. They marched through the streets carrying signs that read "I Am a Man." The message was simple but powerful. They wanted to be treated with basic human dignity. King believed their cause was part of the larger fight for equality. He traveled to Memphis to march with them and give speeches of support. On the evening of April 4, King stepped onto the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He was shot by a man named James Earl Ray. King died at a hospital that night. He was 39 years old. The news triggered grief and anger across America. Riots broke out in over 100 cities. But in Memphis, the sanitation workers continued their peaceful protest. Within two weeks, the city agreed to their demands. The workers won better pay and safer conditions -- the very things King had come to Memphis to fight for. His death was a tragedy, but the cause he supported that day succeeded.