As Black History Month 2025 concludes, this month’s roundup highlights resources on this year’s theme: African Americans and Labor. From agricultural labor during enslavement to contributions across medicine, law, education, entertainment, and more, African Americans have played a vital role in shaping the workforce. Their impact on organized labor unions has been especially significant in the fight against wage disparities and employment discrimination. Exploring this theme offers valuable insight into African American life and culture.
Mr. Black labor; the story of A. Philip Randolph, father of the civil rights movement by Daniel S. Davis
Mr. Black Labor is a biography of A. Philip Randolph, a pioneering labor leader and civil rights activist who fought for Black workers' rights and racial equality. The book details Randolph’s leadership in organizing the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, his successful efforts to pressure President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ban discrimination in the defense industry in 1941, and his role in persuading President Harry S. Truman to integrate the armed forces in 1948. Randolph also played a key part in the 1963 March on Washington, shaping the nonviolent protest tactics later used by Martin Luther King Jr. This book highlights his lifelong dedication to labor rights and civil rights, portraying him as a crucial figure in the fight for Black economic and social justice.
Organized labor and the Black worker, 1619-1973 by Philip Sheldon Foner
This book examines the complex relationship between the labor movement and Black workers, highlighting both resistance to and moments of solidarity with Black laborers. The book details how trade unions and white workers often opposed Black advancement through racism and exclusion, yet also explores instances of interracial class unity, such as efforts by the Knights of Labor, the IWW, and the CIO. Foner emphasizes the leadership roles Black workers took in labor struggles, from the Colored National Labor Union to the Coalition of Black Trade Unions, arguing that true workers' power lies in solidarity.
Rebels in law: voices in history of Black women lawyers by J. Clay (John Clay) Smith Jr.
Rebels In Law is a collection of essays highlighting the struggles and perspectives of Black women lawyers in America. The book showcases their fight to enter the legal profession and their commitment to justice and equality. It brings together diverse voices discussing issues such as race, politics, and legal reform, through its broad range of topics.
Searching for Dr. Harris: The Life and Times of a Remarkable African American Physician by Margaret Humphreys
This book explores the life of Joseph Dennis (J. D.) Harris, a largely overlooked Black physician during the Civil War era. Humphreys uncovers his role in the Freedman’s Bureau in Richmond and pieces together his remarkable but mysterious rise to prominence despite scarce historical records. The book follows Harris’s journey, using speculation grounded in historical context to fill in gaps, examining his education, career, and advocacy for Black emigration to the Caribbean.
The Brotherhood of sleeping car porters; its origin and development by Brailsford Reese Brazeal
This book, which was based on Brazel’s doctoral dissertation, highlights his research on the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black labor union in the U.S. The book situates Brazeal’s work within broader economic and racial struggles, making it a valuable resource for understanding Black labor movements, economic history, and race relations.
A digital collection of some 52 published works by 19th-century black women writers. A part of the Digital Schomburg, this collection provides access to the thought, perspectives and creative abilities of black women as captured in books and pamphlets published prior to 1920. A full text database of these 19th and early 20th- century titles, this digital library is keyword-searchable.
Formerly American Memory, this provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
The Oxford African American Studies Center provides students, scholars and librarians with more than 10,000 articles by top scholars in the field.
Association for the Study of African American Life and History - This organization, founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson (under a previous name), promotes and disseminates information on Black life, history and culture.
Black History Month - This is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
National Museum of African American History and Culture - The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture
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