Black History
Juneteenth holiday celebrates freedom
Posted OnJune 18, 2021 byAs our nation celebrates Juneteenth as an official holiday for the first time, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO marks this day by reaffirming the values of our labor movement: Equal rights for all. Equal opportunity for all. Equal respect for all. June 19, 1865, was the day enslaved people in Texas learned about the Emancipation…Read More
Profile: Bree Newsome
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Bree Newsome, an American filmmaker and activist. Newsome’s activism reached a peak in 2015 when she took down…Read More
Profile: Ella Josephine Baker
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Ella Josephine Baker, a granddaughter of slaves, who was born in Norfolk, Va., in 1903 and moved with…Read More
Profile: Sojourner Truth
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Sojourner Truth, who was born into slavery but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. She…Read More
Profile: A. Philip Randolph
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: A. Philip Randolph, one of the greatest black labor leaders in America’s history and a key founder of…Read More
Profile: Muhammad Ali
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Muhammad Ali. Universally regarded as one of the greatest boxers in history, he has been celebrated not only…Read More
Profile: Harriet Tubman
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Harriet Tubman, “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, transporting escaped slaves to freedom. Her work at the Jersey Shore…Read More
Profile: Echol Cole and Robert Walker
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Echol Cole and Robert Walker, union sanitation workers whose tragic and avoidable deaths sparked a strike and brought…Read More
Profile: Velma Hopkins
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: Velma Hopkins, whose work with the tobacco industry paved the way for North Carolina’s black middle class.Read More
Profile: William Burrus
Posted OnFebruary 1, 2021 byIn partnership with the national AFL-CIO and historical societies, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO honors African Americans who have made a significant impact in the labor and civil rights movements. We hope you meet them all. Profile: William Burrus: He was a leader in the fight to reject a collective bargaining agreement proposed in 1978…Read More