Title
Honoring the legacy of Black labor in Philadelphia, including the first Colored Convention in 1830, and the Black organizers who for centuries have been at the heart of the American labor movement.
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WHEREAS, September is a month to honor worker organizing and the achievements of the labor movement are recognized nationally and in the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Black workers have been at the heart of American Labor History and Labor Organizing, which have served as a vehicle for confronting racial discrimination, unequal wages, segregation, and other barriers to economic opportunity; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has long been a cornerstone of Black labor history, with generations of Black workers, labor organizers, and community leaders organizing across workplaces and industries to challenge discrimination, demand fair wages and safe working conditions, build worker institutions, and expand economic freedom; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia held the first Colored Convention in Philadelphia on September 20, 1830 at Mother Bethel AME church which paved the way for subsequent Black labor organizing and a larger civil rights movement throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, Black labor leaders have a long history of organizing across industries to challenge these barriers. Isaac Myers, a ship caulker and labor organizer, helped organize Black shipyard workers in the aftermath of the 1865 strike, went on to establish the Colored Caulkers' Trade Union Society and assisted in organizing the Colored National Labor Union, advocating for Black workers' access to fair wages, union representation, and economic opportunity; and
WHEREAS, decades later, A. Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, leading a twelve-year campaign that resulted in the union securing a collective bargaining agreement with the Pullman Company in 1937. The Brotherhood became the first predominantly Black labor union to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor, demonstrating the power of Black workers organizing for dignity, fair wages, and workplace protections; and
WHEREAS, Black women have likewise been foundational to the labor movement, including Maida Springer Kemp, a garment worker and organizer who became the first Black woman to represent the U.S. labor movement overseas in 1945 and spent decades building connections among labor movements in the United States, Africa, and internationally; and Clara Day, a Teamster who organized workers at Montgomery Ward beginning in 1953, fought racial and gender discrimination, and helped found the Coalition of Labor Union Women, bringing issues including pay equity and women's rights to the forefront of the labor movement; and
WHEREAS, the history of Black labor is a history of workers building collective power in the workplace and beyond, connecting the struggle for fair wages and safe working conditions with broader movements for civil rights, racial justice, gender equality, and economic opportunity; and
WHEREAS, workers throughout Philadelphia continue to fight for dignity and respect in their workplaces and walk in the centuries long legacy of Black labor leaders before them; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council hereby honors the legacy of Black labor in Philadelphia, including the first Colored Convention in 1830, and the Black organizers who for centuries have been at the heart of the American labor movement.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to the Philly Black Worker Project for their continued organizing and dedication to improving the lives of Black workers in Philadelphia.
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