the only place memphis sanitation workers could escape from the rain on a garbage truck was inside the scoop of the garbage truck. that's where robert walker and eckel cole were hiding from the rain when the compressor malfunctioned and swallowed them into the belly of the truck 50 years ago. their bodies were crushed along with the garbage inside the truck. the horror and degradation of their deaths was unbearable for their co-workers, who all walked off the job and demanded the right to join a union. their protest slogan was simple. "i am a man." after speaking to a massive crowd on his first night in memphis, dr. king flew back and forth to memphis for the next two weeks, squeezing in speeches and sermons in harlem and washington and even managing to sleep at home in atlanta three nights. the last time in his life that he spoke publicly was in memphis at the masonic temple the nice before he was assassinated.