Celebrating Black Labor History Month

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/02/15/celebrating-black-labor-history-month/

by James Parks, Feb 15, 2009

February is Black History Month, and with just a few resources, teachers, parents and union locals can turn it into Black Labor History Month.

The American Labor Studies Center (ALSC) and unions such as AFSCME and AFT have compiled numerous excellent resources to help highlight black history this month by focusing on the history of African Americans in the labor movement.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184514448?bclid=1342091326&bctid=1373284494


A key teaching point is the shared values of the civil rights and union movements. One of the best resources for exploring the common ideas and goals of the two movements is the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who died in 1968 while helping striking sanitation workers in Memphis form a union with AFSCME. (See video.)

But the Memphis strike was not King’s first labor-related effort. In a speech to the 1961 AFL-CIO convention, King said:

History is a great teacher. Now, everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who today attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.

The 1963 March on Washington, where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, was organized to push for better jobs and freedom and was organized primarily by black labor leaders A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. The march had significant labor supporters including then-UAW President Walter Reuther.

On both the ALSC and AFSCME websites, you can find extensive materials on King and the Memphis strike. The resources include videos of King and interviews with some of the strikers. Click here for the ALSC site and here for the AFSCME site.

The AFT also has identified a variety of resources to help celebrate Black History Month, which spotlight key historical events, influential figures and the continuing contributions African Americans are making to our nation and the world.

FULL story at link.