E-mail a friendApril 1, 2008
From Memphis, Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles, pastor of Monumental Baptist Church, reflects on how witnessing Dr. King's assassination has impacted his life. Also, former Memphis sanitation worker Taylor Rogers describes what Dr. King's support and presence meant to the workers' strike.
Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles
Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles
Reverend describes King's last moments at the Lorraine Motel. (6:25)
Pastor of Monumental Baptist Church, reflects on how witnessing Dr. King's assassination has impacted his life. (17:56)
Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles moved to Memphis, TN in '59 to pastor Monumental Baptist Church. A longtime activist, he was involved in the integration of the city's school system, restaurants, buses and other public accommodations. He worked with Dr. Martin Luther King in supporting the sanitation workers' strike, spending the last hour of King's life with him and witnessing his assassination. Kyles is a member of the National Civil Rights Museum Board of Directors and the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.
Taylor Rogers
Taylor Rogers
Former Memphis sanitation worker describes what Dr. King's support and presence meant to the workers' strike. (4:20)
In 1968, Taylor Rogers was a Memphis sanitation worker and helped organize African American workers in launching a strike to win recognition as a union. Strikers were beaten, gassed and jailed, leading Dr. Martin Luther King to agree to draw attention to the workers' plight. The day after speaking to a group of workers, King was assassinated. After 64 days, the strike succeeded, and Rogers later served as president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' Memphis branch for 20 years.