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The Invaders

In looking at more Unheralded Heroes I go back to time of the Memphis Sanitation strikes in 1968. This strike was a big movement for the Negro at that time. Dr. Martin Luther King saw this a chance to continue the message of non-violence in Memphis. But a group of young men had energized the youth of this area and looked at non-violence as not working and wanted to change the approach of being treated like any other American. This group was called the Invaders and they are the Unheralded Heroes I want to feature today.
"Inspired by militant black leaders like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, a new, radicalized generation of civil rights activists made up of young college students, Vietnam vets, musicians, and
. intellectuals emerged in Memphis in 1967. The Invaders espoused Black Power and, when pushed, did not limit themselves to non-violence"(http://www.prichardsmith.com/portfolio/the-invaders). Because the vocabulary and the actions of the Invaders were about Black Power, the 
demands of civil rights leaders seemed moderate and reasonable in comparison.The Invaders – officially named the Black Organizing Project – were a youth movement, and while they are often a footnote to the 1968 historic events in Memphis, they were in truth key players to what took place here. The day that Dr. King died he met with them to come up with a strategy to gain Civil Rights. The video included in this blog will give more insight on The Invaders and see why I have included them as Unheralded Heroes. 

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