If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more. Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of Blavity's. ____ For decades, labor unions have been critical allies to the Black community in the fight for freedom, justice and respect in this country. However, it wasn’t always that way. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many labor unions either banned Black workers from membership or segregated workers by race, resulting in the creation of Black unions such as the Colored National Labor Union , founded in 1869 and led by Isaac Meyers and Frederick Douglass, and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters , founded in 1925 and led by A. Philip Randolph. These new Black union leaders helped pave the way for progress toward racial and economic justice in America. In the 1940s and 1950s, Black union leaders such as Randolph and E.D. Nixon played pivotal roles in ending...
