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Public
Employee Press Black
History Month at DC37: Honoring our heritage By DIANE S. WILLIAMS
Inspiring unionists
to have a global perspective on the 21st century challenges and to value civil
rights victories, labor legend William Lucy recounted his work with Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., and the DC 37 Black History Committee honored three grassroots
groups for uplifting the African Diaspora at the unions 27th annual Black
History Month Finale celebration on Feb. 29.
An audience of more than 400
members helped close a month-long program of rich cultural traditions with guest
speakers, live music, dance and drama highlighting the contributions and achievements
of African Americans. The committee also sponsored a financial seminar Wed., Feb.
13 to help DC 37 members learn to pay down debt and increase their savings.
This
celebration is not about any one group, but its about us, the real us, and
what we can accomplish when we come together, said DC 37 Executive Director
Lillian Roberts. We can shape the future.
The
real us The committee presented its first African Diaspora Awards
to Ms. Roberts for her lifelong work in the labor movement and to three grassroots
groups (see below). Drummers led a procession that included a dozen DC 37 retirees
who have been at the forefront of the union since its early days.
On display
in the union hall galleria was a tribute to the 400 ancestors interred at the
African Burial Grounds, a National Historic Landmark in lower Manhattan. Finale
night entertainment included classical music by the sibling trio JoSunJari, a
reading by poet Gloria Campbell and traditional African dance and drumming by
the Sherekea Dance Troupe. Your union has set an example by providing consistently
great programs that focus on the diversity and cultures that make the union strong
and make us the envy of the world, wrote Gerald W. McEntee, president of
the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37s
parent union, in a letter that was read at the event.
Some 22 local unions participated in this
years Black History Month celebrations and more than 4,000 members attended
the events weve held, said Committee Co-chair Cynthia Chin-Marshall,
administrator of the DC 37 Health and Security Plan.
Through excerpts from
a documentary on the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike, keynote speaker
William Lucy, AFSCMEs secretary-treasurer, told of Dr. Kings struggle
for workers rights, his tragic assassination and the bittersweet triumph
of AFSCMEs contract victory.
Despite a premonition of his own
death, and the governments conspiracy to infiltrate and smear his nonviolent
campaign, Dr. King was determined to fight on behalf of workers worldwide,
said Lucy.
Let me remind you that Dr. King was not merely a civil
rights leader, he was a fighter for workers rights, a fighter for human rights.
He was recognized for his work with a Nobel Peace Prize, Lucy said. Our
legacy and ties to Dr. King place upon us a moral obligation to keep the union
strong.
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