Ben Jones
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"I would tell my wife, when I leave home, 'I might be back and I might not.' "
Jones, 71, is still working at the sanitation department so that he can pay off his house before retirement. He used to warn his wife he might not be back when he left the house as the tensions peaked between sanitation workers and city officials in 1968.
Elmore Nickelberry
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"I'm old enough for your daddy. I ain't no boy. I am a man."
At the age of 76, Nickelberry is still employed as a sanitation worker. He was present at the Feb. 23 march that turned violent. He served in Korea, but said Memphis in 1968 was as much of a war zone.
Ozell Ueal
"[A police officer] went under my coat and sprayed Mace in my face, told me, 'Nigger, go jump in the river.' "
Ueal, 68, is still with the sanitation department. He was part of the Feb. 23 march that exploded into indiscriminate violence. He says he was sprayed in the face with Mace while trying to take cover.
Joe Warren
"Them white police was mean with those sticks. They hit you with those sticks."
Warren, 86, is now retired from the sanitation department. He recalls the harsh working conditions he and other sanitation workers experienced as well as the treatment they received from police while on strike.