Medical District in Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Memphis Municiple Employees Federal Credit Union

Photographed by Steve Masler, March 17, 2026

1. Memphis Municiple Employees Federal Credit Union Marker

Inscription.
The Memphis Public Works Credit Union was chartered in February 1963 and organized to serve laborers who the city did not recognize. The city provided no benefits to mostly African American employees, who worked for the sanitation department. In November 1964 sanitation workers formed the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1773, which was not recognized by the city. On February 1, 1968, a malfunctioning truck crushed garbage collectors Echol Cole and Robert Walker to death.

Cole and Walker's deaths led to the 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike joined by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King's support of the strike ended with his assassination on April 4, 1968. In September 1973 the board of directors amended the Memphis Public Works Federal Credit Union charter and changed its name to Memphis Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union. As of 2023, the credit union had more than $16 million in assets. The City of Memphis congratulated the Memphis Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union and honored its 60th anniversary.

Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4E 189.)

Topics.

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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Industry & Commerce • Labor Unions. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1963.

Location. 35° 8.181′ N, 90° 2.541′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in the Medical District. It is on Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Avenue east of South Lauderdale Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 577 Doctor M.L.K Jr Ave, Memphis TN 38126, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in the Upper South,

in the Mississippi Delta,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: First Baptist Church / Mt. Olive CME Church

Photographed by Steve Masler, March 17, 2026

2. Memphis Municiple Employees Federal Credit Union Marker

(about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Blair T. Hunt, Sr. / Blair T. Hunt, Jr. (about 600 feet away); The Mount Nebo Baptist Church (about 700 feet away); St. John Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Hunt-Phelan Home (approx. 0.2 miles away); George W. Lee (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Commercial Appeal / Publishing Locations (approx. 0.2 miles away); Universal Life Insurance Building / Universal Life Insurance Company (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Photographed by Steve Masler, March 17, 2026

3. Memphis Municiple Employees Federal Credit Union Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 11, 2026, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 11, 2026, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.