On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, union members held events across the country to celebrate the memory of the civil rights icon whose vision is still very much relevant as we continue to fight for equality and justice.
Labor leaders, including a contingent of AFGE leaders and activists, attended the AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in Montgomery, Ala., the past weekend to strengthen the bond between the labor and civil rights movements and renew our commitment to winning racial and economic justice for all.
AFGE President Everett Kelley, along with numberous AFGE leaders and activists, also attended the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists St. Louis Metro chapter’s 44th human rights award banquet on Jan. 15 commemorating Dr. King’s birthday as a national holiday. He delivered a keynote speech in which he called on union members to follow in the footsteps of Dr. King by seeing clearly, keeping hope in hard times, and continuing to fight for what’s right.
“It is imperative that each of us keeps that faith in our heart. That we refuse to get cynical. That we refuse to blind ourselves to the progress we have made even in the face of continued injustice,” he told the crowd. “But, in the same way, we cannot misinterpret this line to mean that, given enough time, things will work themselves out. That justice will materialize on its own. It is up to us to make justice possible in every corner of this world.”
Kelley said over the past decades, we have won many fights, but there are still setbacks – the same struggles that Dr. King fought against, such as racism, voter suppression, and the denial of basic human rights.
In 2024, we also have our work cut out for us, so union members need to see clearly the choices we have in the 2024 elections as there are still those who want to silence the voices of millions of working Americans.
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