Minority
Coalition Report
Director
of the Legislative and Political Action Department
Michael J. Wilson
I
commend you for holding this event.
It
is recognition of the importance of diversity and the way it is valued
by you and by your employer. It is also a tribute specifically to the
history of African Americans in this country. As much as I believe African
American history is worth celebrating, I am old enough to remember when
it was Black History Month. I can remember when it was Negro History Month;
I can even remember Negro History Week, which was conceived by the eminent
Black historian Carter G. Woodson to recognize and appreciate the contributions
African Americans have made to American history.
I
fancy myself as a student of history. And, as such, I am very appreciative
of the pictures here on the stage of the buffalo soldiers, the t-shirts
commemorating Tony Dungy as the first African American coach to win the
Super Bowl, and the pictures of Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson and others.
But,
what I don’t like about history is how history is taught and thought
of just in terms of famous people. It isn’t just famous people who
live through history—all of us do. The American Revolution wasn’t
fought and won by George Washington alone; thousands fought and died to
make this country a country.
World
War II wasn’t just Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Winston Churchill
or Adolph Hitler. Millions of people, American and German, British and
Italian, French and Japanese, Canadian and Italian, Christian, Jewish
and Muslim, in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America—lived or died—through
that history.
The
Montgomery Bus Boycott wasn’t just Rosa Parks and Dr. King. Tens
of thousands of people—not Dr. King—carpooled and walked and
did what they had to do, to not ride in segregated buses.
The
spiritual tells us that “God uses ordinary people.” I would
submit to you that it is ordinary people who live history as much as famous
folk. Folk who make beds, who serve food, folk, who bargain contracts
and represent workers are living history.
I
would recommend to you a movie called 10,000
Black Men Named George. It is a movie detailing the struggle of A.
Phillip Randolph and the Pullman porters who fought to form a union, to
provide justice and dignity. You see, the Pullman porters -- who were
all Black -- were all called George after the founder of the company George
Pullman. No matter what their real names were—they were all George
to their customers and to the world—until they got a union.
All
of us have a responsibility as citizens to be full participants in the
working life of this nation. Union Members have special responsibility.
Not only must we be fully participating citizens, we must show solidarity
by assisting other worker. It is through our collective efforts that we
have retirement benefits, health care and a voice at work.
Change
Only Through Politics
The
only changes that have been made in our nation have been made through
the political system.
It was through the political system that Abraham Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation which ended legal slavery in this
country.
It
was through the Political system that the Voting Rights Act was enacted,
ending decades of discrimination and enfranchising millions of African
American voters throughout our country.
It
was the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act that workers finally
got the right to collective bargaining and to actually form a union. That
change through the legislative process and the Nation’s political
system.
And
someday we will have national health care –- quality, universal,
affordable health care and that change will come about through the political
system. It won’t happen with this President—But It’s
Going to Happen.
We need
more Changes Today –-
We
need Immigration reforms which will let millions of people who are undocumented
workers come out from the shadows and be full participants in our communities.
We
need reform which recognizes and values Collective Bargaining, such as
your local is going through right now.
And
we need reform of voting systems to ensure that every vote gets counted
and that every voter has confidence in our system.
I
know in Florida you know all about voting, and so maybe there is nothing
I can tell you about voting. But I will tell you two stories and then
sing you a song:
A
friend of mine who is a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO told me that in 1960
he wanted to vote for John F. Kennedy for President. Unfortunately for
Byron, he was living in the state of Virginia at the time. Before he could
vote, he was asked a question, which he had to answer correctly before
he would be permitted to vote. The question was, “How much energy
is in a ton of coal?”
Suffice
it to say, Byron didn’t get to vote that year.
But let me tell you about my first vote. It was in an
election in 1976 – but it was union election. I had graduated from
high school and was working for Sears when the Retail Clerks were organizing
the store. My vote was challenged because, even though I worked 40 hours
a week, I was only 17 years old. I got to cast what was, essentially,
a provisional ballot. So, my first vote was a memorable, but ultimately,
unsatisfactory experience.
But
I am not going to sing you a song. I often threaten to sing, but, rather
than torture you that way, I will merely recite the lyrics. The song is
“Pass it on”, and it is an osld labor song that goes like
this.
Freedom
doesn’t come like a bird on the wing
It doesn’t come down like the summer rain
Freedom, freedom is a hard won thing
You’ve got to work for it, fight for it
Day and night for it
And every generation got to win it again
Pass it on to your children brotherss
Pass it on to you children mothers
You’ve got to work for it, fight for it, day and night for it
Pass it on to your children
Pass it on
That’s
what this celebration is about. Pass it on.
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