In collaboration with Nike and inspired by the storied history that shaped a movement and the City of Memphis, our 2018 ‘MLK50’ City Edition uniform will support the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel’s remembrance of the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and is set to debut at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration game on January 15 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in a nationally-televised game on TNT.

The story behind the uniform’s design dates back to February 1, 1968, when two Memphis Sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death by a malfunctioning garbage truck. This tragic flashpoint aggravated by years of dangerous working conditions, poverty level wages, and unequal treatment led black sanitation workers to strike. Their demand for human dignity would coin the slogan ‘I Am A Man’ and eventually bring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis weeks later to march alongside protestors. It was on that trip that Dr. King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.

The uniform’s story, stark use of color, iconic type and design is intended to shine a national light on the events that led up to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the tragic event itself and to support the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel’s drive to deepen our understanding of the ongoing movement forward for social justice that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. defined in life and in death.