Little Known History of Labor Rights and Civil Rights
A few weeks ago I attended the United Auto Workers Region 9A 18th Annual
Civil Rights Award Recognition dinner in Hartford, Connecticut. The
evening was a stirring tribute to the work of those who through their
work in labor rights have been advancing civil rights. For most
Americans the story of how labor organizations like the UAW were key
partners in the Civil Rights movement of the mid 20th century is an
unknown piece of trivia. From the UAW's support of the Montgomery Bus
Boycott in 1955 which would bring the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. to national attention, to UAW's support of the freedom riders
and voters registration of African Americans in the 1960's, to fighting
for women worker's rights, to supporting the struggle of Cesar Chavez's
United Farm Workers, the United Auto Workers has served as an essential
ally in supporting movements for greater equality and social justice.
Similarly there is little recollection of the Civil Rights' legacy of
fighting for economic rights, workers rights, and the right to work. The
famed March on Washington in 1963 was titled the March on Washington for
Freedom and Jobs and was originally envisioned by the great labor leader
A Phillip Randolph. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis
Tennessee supporting a labor strike. Dr. King's last nation campaign was
aimed at demanding greater investment into and more opportunity for
working class Americans.
The struggle for racial equality has at its core many of the same issues
at the foundation of the labor movement, the right to a living wage and
the need for greater economic opportunity and equality. In the context
of the "Great Recession"and a decades long regression in economic
opportunity for most Americans this connection of labor and civil rights
is as important as ever.
What has made the Great Recession such a challenge is the Great
Recession comes after decades of a "great regression" in many areas of
economic equality. For the last 30 years the American economy has been
one where wealth and income is increasingly concentrated in the hands of
an elite, creating a top heavy economy versus a middle class economy
that was at the center of America's most prosperous years.
Dr. King stated in his 1963 speech, "Social Justice and the New Emerging
Era", "I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will
take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few."
Increasingly, the economic reality of a declining middle class, a
solidifying of racial economic inequality, and a growing concentration
of wealth is being called the new normal. It was an honor to be part of
an event that recognized those who were maladjusted to the reality of
the new normal and are fighting for the dream shared by Dr. King, the
civil rights movement, and organized labor, a dream of greater economic
equality and opportunity.
The honorees of the United Auto Work Civil Rights dinner were Domestic
Workers United, Ron Patenaude, and General Holifield. Domestic Workers
Unites is a labor group who in the midst of this poor economy has
organized the most disenfranchised segments of society primarily women,
people of color, and immigrants who provide the domestic work which
makes the lifestyle of those with higher income possible. Ron Patenaude,
President of Local 322 in Holyoke Massachusetts, was honored for his
diverse work in ensuring civil rights for all regardless of sexual
orientation, fighting to restore cuts to Medicaid, and Criminal Offender
Record Information reform. Last but not least the NAACP's own national
board member and UAW Vice President General Holifield was awarded for
embodying in action the unity between civil and labor rights.
The examples of those honored at the UAW Civil Rights dinner highlight
the great work that intersects civil and labor rights that is still
being done. Malcolm X used to state that the subject of history is best
qualified to reward our research. As we begin Black history month let us
examine the history of civil and labor rights and examine how these
movements can best reward our contemporary challenges of promoting great
economic equality and opportunity for all.
Follow Dedrick Muhammad on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DedrickM
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