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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