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Black Labor History
During the second week of February in 1926, Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time. February was appropriate since Frederick Douglass' and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays are celebrated. In 1976, Negro History Month became Black History Month and the rich history of African Americans began to receive special attention during the entire month of February.
As historians take a closer look at the many facets of black history in this country, they often find themselves documenting not only the struggle of oppressed people in this country, but how that struggle was - and continues to be - part of a larger social and economic movement to improve the lives of the working class and their roles within the American labor movement.
There are so many rich resources available to workers, organizers, teachers and students to help explore this aspect of black history beyond the month of February. Listed below with their links are just a handful of resources.
As historians take a closer look at the many facets of black history in this country, they often find themselves documenting not only the struggle of oppressed people in this country, but how that struggle was - and continues to be - part of a larger social and economic movement to improve the lives of the working class and their roles within the American labor movement.
There are so many rich resources available to workers, organizers, teachers and students to help explore this aspect of black history beyond the month of February. Listed below with their links are just a handful of resources.
Black Freedom Fighters in Steel: The Struggle for Democratic UnionismThe story of five black organizers, long-distance runners who were indispensable to building the steel workers' union, as well as the civil rights movement in northwest Indiana.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center
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At The River I StandA 58-minute documentary chronicling the connection between economic and civil rights, debates strategies for change, the demand for full inclusion of African Americans in American life and the fight for dignity for public employees and all working people. It highlights the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Oh Freedom After While A 1999 California Newsreel DVD. One reviewer called it “An epic tale of courage and perseverance, race and class, imagination and endurance.”
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An organization representing 50+ international and national unions with 50 chapters whose goal is to “build a national movement…to achieve economic, political and social justice for every American.” Its “Taking a Stand” section includes statements and videos by CBTU President Terry Melvin on a number of contemporary topics such as immigration and voting rights.
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