Many on the Left are wondering what to do against the Trump administration’s vicious assaults on workers, immigrants, and free speech. We can look to US civil rights activists, who kept taking great risks even after demoralizing setbacks.
Building a Doomsday Machine (1950), A Rogue Agency? (1975), Origins of International Women’s Day (1909), Gradual Emancipation Is Better than None (1780), Kicking Jim Crow off the Bus (1955), Robeson’s Best (1940), Happy Birthday, Vivaldi! (1725)
Every now and then, a voice can matter. Mahalia Jackson had one of them.
Though the unions held themselves up as civil rights advocates, white workers often saw their black counterparts as a threat because they competed for the same jobs. In response, black workers formed coalitions to change unions from within. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, for example, was founded in 1972. One union stood out when it came to opportunity and access for black workers: the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters with its significant black membership.
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