Black History Month presents the ideal opportunity to highlight the achievements of African-American Labor Leaders whose contributions still prevail in contemporary workforce-development policies and programs.
Well before the U.S. Department of Labor was created in 1913, the U.S. Labor Movement was born when apprentice laborers in Charleston, SC went on strike for better pay in the 1700s.
Integral to the Movement, and its impact on the workforce-development industry, were Black Labor Movement pioneers, fighting for workers’ rights, i.e., economic and racial justice, equitable hiring, improved wages, and influencing federal legislation that have improved conditions for all US workers in myriad industry sectors.
- Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) championed the right of workers to organize and served as President of the Colored National Labor Union in 1872;
- Isaac Myers(1835 – 1891) rose from a job as a caulker to organize the Colored Caulkers Trade Union Society;
- A. Philip Randolph (1889 – 1979) organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black labor organization recognized by the AFL-CIO;
- Hosea Hudson (1898 – 1988) was a labor leader in the South, a steel-mill worker, a local union official, and organizer of the Right to Vote Club, helping literate African Americans register to vote;
- Ernest Calloway (1909 – 1989) dedicated his life fighting to end workplace discrimination through his work with the Teamsters, the NAACP, and the Congress of Industrial Organizations; and
- Bayard Rustin(1912 – 1987)
- Russell R. Lasley (1914 – 1989)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
- Norman Rayford (Died in 1972)
As we look back, we do more than remember names: we recognize a foundation. Their courage shaped opportunity, their vision shaped systems, and their sacrifice opened doors still walked through today. We honor their legacy by continuing the work: expanding access and ensuring the promise of workforce development reaches every generation to come.
In March, Women’s History Month, we will commemorate those who have been foundational to the U.S. Labor Movement, organizing for better wages, child labor laws, gender equity, workplace safety, and much more.