Subseries II.B. Negro-American Labor Council

Description data TOP

unitid

{"value"=>"3419669", "type"=>"local_mss"}

unitdate

{"value"=>"1952-1972", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1952/1972"}

unittitle

{"value"=>"Subseries II.B. Negro-American Labor Council"}

bioghist

{"value"=>"<p>The Negro-American Labor Council was founded May 27, 1960 by a gathering of one thousand Black union delegates in Detroit, citing frustration with the pace of integration in the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which still supported segregated locals. Over the course of a three-day convention, delegates discussed the abolition of Jim Crow practices in labor and to fuller representation for the 1,250,000 Black unionists on union staffs and policy-making bodies. NALC membership had declined sharply by 1962, but in 1963 it organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.</p> <p>A. Philip Randolph served as NALC's first President. McLaurin served as Treasurer of the New York Chapter and stepped down from the position in 1969. NALC dissolved in 1972.</p>"}

scopecontent

{"value"=>"<p>Subseries II.B., dating from 1952 to 1972, details McLaurin's tenure as the Treasurer of the New York Chapter of the Negro-American Labor Council (NALC) through Correspondence, National Committees, Membership documents, Programs, Events, Publications, and Financial Records.</p> <p>The Correspondence files are arranged alphabetically, and the rest of the subseries is arranged chronologically. The materials document grievance investigations into claims of discrimination and harassment towards Black unionists in their locals. Additionally, NALC frequently offered financial and legal support, connecting unionists with organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Correspondence with Fred Smalls, one of the high school students who took part in the initial S.H. Kress store sit-in in Charleston, South Carolina, is included.</p> <p>Many National Committee meeting minutes are held in this subseries, including the Planning, Cultural, Newsletter, and Social committees. The topics addressed in the National Committees files are expanded upon in the Membership, Programs, Events, and Publications minutes. The concepts and goals initially explored in the committees' meeting minutes are expanded via program roadmaps, convention proceedings, newsletters, and press releases.</p> <p>Publications files include newsletters addressing integration, flyers promoting fundraising dances, and brochures promoting organized apprenticeship training programs. Materials from the founding convention are present in the subseries, including summary proceeding reports, nascent Executive Committee meeting minutes, and clippings.</p> <p>Though McLaurin served as the Treasurer of NALC, the financial records are not comprehensive and contain bank statements, receipts, and a financial audit conducted in 1969, prior to McLaurin vacating his post.</p>"}

date_start

1952

keydate

1952

date_end

1972

date_inclusive_start

1952

date_inclusive_end

1972

Child components TOP

1. Correspondence [11/1]
2. National Committees [8/1]
3. Membership
4. Programs [3/1]
5. Events [7/1]
6. Publications
7. Financial Records