CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s support of a labor strike with an event in Chapel Hill.

Dr. King first supported striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee with a speech on March 18, 1968.

The crowd at the United Church of Chapel Hill listened to that speech. North Carolina NAACP President T. Anthony Spearman says it's a reminder that every working American deserves civil rights.

"Labor is the paramount force which develops the resources of the world. Labor produces wealth and labor pays all of the taxes, hence all labor indeed has dignity," Rev. Anthony said.

The organization says Dr. King's fight for labor rights still continues today.