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King Day Participants Celebrate 2008 Wins, Plan for Future |
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The inauguration of the nation’s first African American president next week is just the beginning of a historic shift in the nation’s politics, and civil rights activists from across the country are gathering this weekend to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and discuss how to complete King’s dream of a just society.
During the annual AFL-CIO King Day celebration, which begins today and runs through Jan. 19 in New Orleans, more than 200 participants will examine what the 2008 election means for our nation and working families. Responding to President-elect Obama’s call to honor King with community service, the participants will join with hundreds of area union members and roll up their sleeves in more than 20 different community service projects in a city that continues to suffer three years later from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
In his keynote address to the conference, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka says the election of Barack Obama shows how far we have come as a nation, but warns there is much more to do before we reach our goal of equal opportunity for all.
When we’re watching that joyous moment [Obama's inauguration] with tears in our eyes, I hope we all take a moment to remember the real Dr. King. Because if we do, I think we’ll hear him tell us that Barack Obama’s election isn’t an achievement to rest on, but a victory to build on.
If we do, I think we’ll hear him tell us that it’s time to roll up our sleeves and help President Obama in his work—just as he’ll be helping us in ours. If we listen with our hearts that day, we’ll hear him tell us that our success on Nov. 4 was only a down payment on what we can achieve if we continue this march together.
Trumka reminded the audience King was a strong advocate for unions and that he was assassinated 40 years ago in Memphis, Tenn., where he was helping striking sanitation workers form a union (see video).
Just how far we have to go is evident in a new report released today by United for a Fair Economy (UFE), which shows people of color are in an economic tailspin that has no end in sight.
Says Amaad Rivera, one of the report’s co-authors:
While media and public attention has focused on the recession that started a year ago for the total population, people of color have been experiencing a recession for five years. By definition, a long-term recession is a depression.
The report, State of the Dream 2009: The Silent Depression, shows:
- The black unemployment rate today equals or exceeds what it was during the Great Depression of 1929. Nearly 12 percent of black workers are unemployed; and this number is expected to increase to nearly 20 percent by 2010. Among young African American males between ages 16 and 19, the unemployment rate is 32.8 percent, compared with their white counterparts who are at 18.3 percent.
- Overall, 24 percent of blacks and 21 percent of Latinos are in poverty, versus 8 percent of whites.
- Today’s black economic depression may well foreshadow the depth and length of the recession the whole country entered last month. A deep recession would see median family income decline by 4 percent. Thirty-three percent of blacks and 41 percent of Latinos would drop out of the middle class. The overall national rate would be 25 percent.
Click here for a copy of the report.
While in New Orleans, activists will perform community service projects around the Crescent City and hear from local union and political leaders about the state of the city in the aftermath of Katrina. They will analyze the role workers of color played in the 2008 elections and discuss strategies to promote a worker-friendly agenda in Congress and the White House.
Along with Trumka, other key speakers will include Transport Workers President James Little, United Steelworkers Vice President Fred Redmond, Interfaith Worker Justice Executive Director Kim Bobo and Richard Womack, former assistant to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
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