Today, we are taking a moment of silence in honor of the two men, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, whose tragic deaths 50 years ago led to the Memphis sanitation strike and the historic involvement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As part of "I AM 2018," we are reposting the following article by historian Michael Honey, which originally ran on the AFL-CIO website 10 years ago. It tells the story of Cole and Walker and of King's involvement in the strike.

Last night, President Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address. Working people were quick to point out that most of us don't live in the reality described in the president's speech and when it comes to the issues we care about, actions speak louder than words. 

On the campaign trail and as president, Donald Trump has continually shined a spotlight on America’s growing transportation and broader infrastructure crisis—and promised to do something about it. Now, as he prepares for his first State of the Union address, the president is expected to once again push his vision for rebuilding America.

When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, the Republicans put out a TV commercial in which a union guy said Reagan was for working stiffs like him.

Unions warned that the far-right-wing Reagan was notoriously anti-union. "A union member voting for Ronald Reagan would be like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders," said a sign in a Paducah, Kentucky, union hall.

Nine years ago today, then-President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, restoring working women’s right to sue over pay discrimination. It was the first piece of legislation enacted during his presidency, and he noted the significance of the moment: "It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign...we are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness."