Public Employee Press

Herbert Hill dies, fought racial discrimination in labor

When former NAACP Labor Secretary Herbert Hill died Aug. 15, New York Times national labor reporter Steven Greenhouse called him “one of the loudest and most effective voices raised against racial discrimination by unions.”

Mr. Hill “was that all-too-rare figure in American life — a white man who joined the black struggle, using his considerable skills and energy to eliminate white privilege,” said NAACP Chair Julian Bond.

Born in Brooklyn in 1924, he studied at Abraham Lincoln High School, New York University and The New School, where he earned a master’s degree.

He organized for the Steelworkers union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where in 1947 he helped integrate recreational facilities in New York City.

Battling discrimination
In 1952, Mr. Hill began 25 years as the NAACP’s labor secretary, championing the employment rights of black workers in major industries and labor unions.

“I think of myself as an unreconstructed abolitionist,” he said in 1963. “My policy is to tell the truth and hit them hard.”

He picketed Harlem Hospital and City Hall. He testified at Senate hearings. He sat in hiring halls to document patterns of racial discrimination. He traveled nationwide meeting with black workers. He brought countless lawsuits. DC 37 and AFSCME were among the few unions that escaped his pointed attacks.

In 1959, in reaction to his many union critics, Hill said: “The real corruption is moral. It’s when unions say they’re against discrimination and then go right on keeping Negroes out of membership and out of jobs.”

Hill had a deep love for the labor movement, but he believed unions could only realize their potential if they eliminated racist practices and embraced all working people equally.

An expert on Black literature, he left the N.A.A.C.P. in 1977 to help establish the Afro-American Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin, where he inspired generations of students. His monumental book, “Black Labor and the American Legal System,” is a classic.

As America has moved away from its commitment to affirmative action, Herbert Hill’s voice is missed. His legacy and example continue to inspire. He never lost his sense of outrage and his passionate dedication to justice for all.

As retired city labor expert James McNamara noted at a memorial service in October, “Herbert Hill was a troublemaker in the best sense.”

— Jane LaTour