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By Keila Santa '25
It’s Black History Month! This year’s theme, “African Americans and Labor”, focuses on how labor of all kinds intersects with the collective experiences of Black people, emphasizing the pivotal roles they have played in the labor movements that shaped the economy and social fabric of the United States. According to the ASALH, “Black people’s work has been transformational throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora...The 2025 Black History Month theme, ‘African Americans and Labor,’ sets out to highlight and celebrate the potent impact of this work” (“2025 Black History Theme”). In this post, we’ll be highlighting 4 inspiring Black labor leaders who helped shape the American workforce.
A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979)
Asa Philip Randolph was a highly influential labor leader and civil rights activist of the 20th century. In 1925, he co-founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which was the first African American labor union to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) as well as the nation’s first predominantly Black labor union. New legislation made in 1934 then paved the way for Randolph and the BSCP to sign a contract with the Pullman Palace Car Company that recognized the union, securing better wages and working conditions for Black railway workers. Randolph also played a major role in civil rights activism: after organizing a large protest march in Washington D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to Randolph’s efforts by issuing Executive Order 8802, which opened war industries in World War II to Black workers and created the Fair Employment Practice Commission (FEPC). Throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, Randolph continued his work in organizing several other major protest marches, including the iconic March on Washington where an estimated 250,000 people turned out to march for jobs and freedom for African Americans, and where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. A year later, the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed (A. Philip Randolph).
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955)
Despite being the daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary Mcleod Bethune became one of the most prominent Black educators and civil rights leaders of the twentieth century, propelling opportunities for Black women in particular. She graduated from the Scotia Seminary and in 1894 went on to attend Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. After moving to Florida and ending her marriage with a prior coworker, Albertus Methune, she was determined to support her son on her own and opened a boarding school called the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. This school eventually became a college, merging with the all-male Cookman Institute to form Bethune-Cookman in 1929. It was one of the fewer institutions that offered higher education to Black people at the time. Bethune continued her mission to end racial and gender inequalities and prioritizing education by founding many organizations and leading voter registration drives after women gained the right to vote in 1920. In 1924, she became president of the National Council of Colored Women’s Clubs, and in 1935, founded the National Council for Negro Women to fight for Black women’s workplace rights, fair wages, and employment opportunities. A year later, Bethune secured her place as the highest ranking African American woman in government when President Franklin Roosevelt appointed her the director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration. One of her main concerns in this position was to ensure that Black youth had access to employment opportunities, setting up future generations for great success (Michals, “Mary”).
Bayard Rustin (1912–1987)
Bayard Rustin was a key strategist in labor and civil rights movements. Even in his youth, Rustin was a bold activist for his community. On a high school road trip with the integrated West Chester Senior High School, Rustin insisted that Black players stay in the same hotel as white players, and was arrested for sitting in the “Whites only” section at the local movie theatre. Later in life, he worked closely with A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, advocating for Black workers’ rights and challenging employment discrimination. In 1963, Rustin also played a major role in organizing the March on Washington alongside Randolph. He then went on to participate in the first Freedom Ride across the South to protest the segregation of interstate bus travel, but was arrested for violating state segregation laws. His account of the several weeks of hard labor he was sentenced to for this offence ended up sparking prison reform and led to the abolition of the convict labor system in North Carolina. After launching the A. Philip Randolph institute (APRI), he served as the executive director from 1965-1972, and then as its president until his death in 1987. Under his leadership, the APRI announced a freedom budget which proposed a plan to eliminate poverty, conducted a nationwide voter registration campaign, and ran a program to prepare Black individuals for valuable apprenticeships in the building trades (Piccotti).
Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005)
Shirley Chrisholm is known for her lifelong social activism and her political career as the first African American woman in congress. Initially, Chrisholm worked as a nursery school teacher, and in 1951 earned her masters degree in early childhood education from Columbia University. In an effort to fight against racial and gender inequality during the 60’s, she joined the League of Women Voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League, and the Democratic Party club in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. In 1968, she made history as the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, introducing more than 50 pieces of legislation and championing policies that protected workers, expanded employment opportunities, and promoted economic equity. Chrisholm then went on to be the first Black person to run for presidential nomination in one of the two major parties in 1972. Her campaign pushed for racial and gender equity, recognizing the need for uplifting the working-class of the nation. When asked what she wanted her legacy to be, Chisholm said, “I want to be remembered as a woman…who dared to be a catalyst of change” (Michals, “Shirley”).
These are just some of the outstanding Black leaders who have shaped the nation’s labor movements. If you want to read more about these individuals, or about the history of how African American experiences intersect with labor in the U.S., check out some of the books and resources below from our collection:
A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom
Mary McLeod Bethune: Voice of Black Hope
Lost Prophet: the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin
Shirley Chrisholm Dared: the Story of the First Black Woman in Congress
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
Heart and Soul: the Story of America and African Americans
References:
“A. Philip Randolph.” History, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/a-philip-randolph.
Michals, Debra. “Mary McLeod Bethune.” National Women’s History Museum, National Women’s History Museum, 2015, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune.
Michals, Debra. “Shirley Chrisholm.” National Women’s History Museum, National Women’s History Museum, 2015, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm.
Piccotti, Tyler. “Bayard Rustin.” Biography, Hearst Magazine Media, Inc., 17 Nov. 2023, www.biography.com/activists/bayard-rustin.
"2025 Black History Theme Executive Summary: African Americans and Labor" Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), www.asalh.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2025-Black-History-Theme-Executive-Summary-1.pdf.
All images are public domain from: https://www.loc.gov/
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