Page MLK-6...The Portland Observer...January 13, 1993
Local Electricians
King’s Goal To “Redeem The
Soul Of America”
E xcerpts fro m 1991 speech by
N orm an H ill, form er associate o f Dr.
M a rtin Luther K in g and N ational Presi
dent o f he labor union-based A P h ilip
hum anity, regardless o f their social class
o r position o r race o r creed T h is eg a li
ta ria n and dem ocratic s p irit is o u r ideal,
and in a very real sense is also the soul
R andolph Institute.
..How can we understand K in g ’ s
assertion that the goal o f his life w o rk
w as to “ re d e e m th e s o u l o f
that must be redeemed.
We need a new view o f hum an
existence; we need to reassert the value
o f w ork. It is false and m isleading to
im p ly that w h ile you w o rk w ith your
hands, your soul is not also nourished
and exercised. We need a concept o f
A m e rica ” . W hat does it mean to re
deem the soul o f a nation? W hat is the
soul o f our nation'.’ Does it have certain
specific creed or co lo r to it? A nd, w hat
does redem ption have' to do w ith the
hu m a n ity that emphasizes the holiness
and uniqueness o f the entire hum an
personality, the physical as w e ll as the
B la ck-la b o r alliance?
Let us first co n fro n t dire ctly certain
Keith Edwards
Ricky Brame
Terry Tims
sp iritu a l. It is precisely such separations
— m ental versus m anual w o rk, blue-
c o lla r versus w h ite -co lla r, B la ck versus
w h ite -- that oppress us as a society. It is
th is sp iritu a l b lin d spot in our w o rk
unreal stereotypes about the labor m ove
ment. I f labor — allegedly -- only helps
b lu e -co lla r w orkers, and i f labor —a l
legedly - only exists to be co rru p t and
raise the wages o f our ow n members at
the expense o f everyone else, then one
could say that labor is interested o n ly in
grease and in greed, and ce rta in ly not in
a n yth in g as noble as hum an sp iritu a lity
places, our im aginations, and o u r souls,
that keep us as a nation fro m do in g the
more concrete, the more practical things
that we need to do to honor the fu ll
d ig n ity o f a ll our citizens -- to feed our
o r redem ption.
K in g ’ s speech to sanitation w o rk
ers in M em phis, given on the day before
his assassination, comes to m in d to
combat these tw isted and m isleading
anti-labor stereoty pes: “ you are demand
in g that th is c ity respect the d ig n ity o f
labor. So often we overlook the w o rk
and the significance o f those w ho are
not in the so-called b ig jobs. B ut let me
Bobby Cason
Clifton Edwards
The Electrical Workers Minority Caucus Third
Anual National Conference January 16 & 17
M ore than 125 delegates fro m
across the U S. and Canada w ill be
attending the E le ctrica l W orkers M i
n o rity Caucus (E W M C ) 3rd annual
N a tio n al Conference, January 16th
and 17th at the Benson Hotel. The
conference theme is “ Im p le m e n ting
the Plan.” The purpose o f the E W M C
is to prom ote and support A fric a n -
H e rita g e and o th e r m in o ritie s in
a tta in in g leadership positions w ith in
the In te rn a tio n a l B rotherhood o f E lec
tric a l W orkers (IB E W ).
N o rm H ill, N a tio n al President o f
the A P h ilip Randolph Institute (A P R I)
w il l be the guest speaker fo r the
Saturday luncheon. The A P R I is an
a rm o f th e N a tio n a l A F L - C I O ,
garet C arter w ill give the delegates
a w a rm w elcom e to the P acific N o rth
west and lead the B la c k N a tio n a l
A n th e m , L ift Every V oice and Sing!
IB E W is an A F L -C IO a ffilia te d
u n io n w ith a p p ro x im a te ly 700,000
members in the U S. and Canada.
F or a com plete agenda o f w o rk
dedicated to em powerm ent and leader
s h ip tra in in g for A frican-H eritage w o rk
sh o p s a n d s p e a k e rs c a ll D o n n a
H a m m o n d a t 2 4 1 -4 6 4 4 o r K e ith
ers.
Edwards at 284-4805.
Oregon State Representative, M a r-
and give jobs and jo b tra in in g to our
unem ployed, our underemployed, our
u n skille d , to o u r w orkers put perm a
nently, callously, and system atically our
o f w o rk by the excesses o f the Reagan-
Bush laissez-faire econom ic policies...
W hen K in g accepted the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1964, he said: “ I refuse to
accept the idea that hu m a n ity is mere
flotsam and jetsam in the riv e r o f life
say to y ou to n ig h t that w henever y ou are
engaged in w o rk that senes hu m a n ity
and is fo r the b u ild in g o f hum anity, it
Donna Hammond
hungry, educate our ch ild re n , house our
homeless, give m edical care to our ill,
has d ig n ity and it has w o rth !”
In fact, throughout our long and
proud history, the labor m ovem ent has
sought to honor the d ig n ity o f the in d i
v id u a l, and respect the w o rth o f a ll
w h ic h surrounds us. I refuse to accept
the idea that the “ isness’ o f h u m a n ity ’ s
present nature makes us m o ra lly inca
pable o f reaching up fo r the eternal
‘ oughtness’ that forever confronts us.”
B u t is n ’ t that w hat we are always
The Portland A. Philip Randolph
Institute Welcomes Norman Hill
National President of APRI
To A . P h ilip R andolph and Bayard
Lustin, A P R I’ sco-founders, the fig h t fo r
and social freedom and econom ic ju s
workers’ rights and c iv il rig h ts were
T h is B la ck-L a bo r A llia n c e helped
the c iv il rig h ts movement achieve one o f
its greatest victories - passage o f the
V o tin g R ights A c t’ , w hich removed the
last re m aining legal barriers to broad
tice.
»separable.
R a n d o lp h (1 8 8 9 -1 9 7 9 ) was the
.reatest a black labor leader in A m erican
listory and the father o f the modern
American c iv il rig h ts movement. R ustin
1912-1987), a leading c iv il rig h ts and
abor a ctivist and strategist, was the c h ie f
organizer o f the h isto ric 1963 M a rch on
V ashington fo r Jobs and Freedom and
Randolph’ s greatest protege’ .
Randolph and R ustin forged an a ll i-
ince between the c iv il rig h ts movem ent
ind the labor m ovem ent They recog-
tized that blacks and w o rk in g people o f
n A n lr
rsi-xl 11 »
I
11 z>r\1zxrc' choro tlvr»
b lack p o litic a l participation.
Inspired by th is success, Randolph,
and R ustin founded APRI in 1965 to
continue the struggle for social, p o litic a l
and econom ic ju stice for a ll w o rk in g
A m ericans. Today, AP R I is led by Presi
dent N orm an H ill, w h o served as Execu
tive D ire cto r under the tw o founders,
and C hairm an Leon Lynch, International
V ice President fo r the U nited Steelw o rk-
A.P.R.I. Portland Chapter Itinenary
to ld when we propose new program s to
meet pressing social needs in th is coun
try? That there is n ’ t enough money, that
we are being too idealistic, that A m erica
could nev er really hope to take care o f
a ll those things that we ought to?...
There is an unforgettable and tragic
poignancy to a person or a nation that
gives up, that turns its back on its dream
settling fo r less than it really deserves.
Because we kn o w in our hearts that we
can w in this battle. Sure, there are tough
budget choices - but w hen p o ll after
p o ll shows that A m ericans are w illin g
to raise taxes to meet specific, pressing
social needs, only the conservative . can
fa il to believe in the innate goodness o f
hum anity, or at least in the pote n tia l fo r
goodness that we a ll have, the potential
o f hum an sp irit to achieve and earn
redem ption...
For, in the fin a l analysis, w hen we
are asked to account fo r out choices and
our action s, we shall be rem inded o f the
words o f our founder and namesake, A.
P h ilip Randolph: “ S alvation fo r a race,
nation or class must come fro m w ith in .
Freedom is never granted; it is won.
Justice is never given; it is exacted.
Freedom and ju stice must be struggled
fo r by the oppressed o f a ll lands and
races, and the struggle must be co n tin u
ous, fo r freedom is never a fin a l fact, but
a co n tin u in g e vo lvin g process to higher
and h ig h er levels o f human, social,
economic, p o litic a l and re lig io u s rela
tionships.” ...
(The Portland Chapter o f the A.
P h ilip Randolph Institute Meets the 2nd
Thursday o f each m onth, 7 P M at the
K in g N eighborhood F a cility, 4815 N.E.
7th, Portland.O R.
King, on speaking: " Un
fortunately, when hope di
minishes, the hate is often
turned most bitterly toward
those who originally built
up the hope...the only time
that I have been booed...I
went home that night with
an ugly feeling...I finally
came to myself, and I could
not for the life of me have
less than patience and un
derstanding for those
young people...their hopes
had soared. They were
now booing because they
felt that we were unable to
deliver on our promises [of
equality]."
Friday 1115193
8:00 am
12:00 noon
Labor Breakfast Kirkland Union Manor
Portland Bldg.
Saturday 1116193
9:30-12:00
12:30
PORTLAND OBSERVER
'The Eyes and Ears ol the Community
Summit Benson Hotel
Electrical Workers Minority Caucus
Conference Luncheon Benson Hotel
Office: (503)280-0033
Fax#: (503)288-0015
“J have the audacity to believe that people everyrvhere can have three meals
a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity,
equality and freedom for their spirits”
Martin Luther King. Jr. — Acceptance speech , Nobel Peace Prize, Dec. 10. 1964
C
e e fre a m
is one ofayuality ofopportunity, o f privilege a n d prop
erty widely distributed; a dream ofa landwhere man w ill no! ta le necessities from
Martin
Luther
the many to give luxuries to the few- a dream o fa landwhere men do not agree that
K in g
1929-196«
the color o f a man's shin determines the content ofhis character; a dream o f a place
"I
where a l l our gifts a n d resources are h e ld n o t fo r ourselves alone but as instruments
o f service fo r the rest o f humanity; the dream o fa country where every man w ill
respect the dignity a n d worth o fa lt human personality, andm en w ill dare to live
together as brothers... ”
M a rlin Lu th e r King. Jr. -I9 6 0
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