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Making Waves

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Convergence

Racial Justice

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Erica Smiley: Can we imagine a democracy worth fighting for?

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In this seventh episode of Black Work Talk, host Steven Pitts welcomes Erica Smiley, Executive Director of Jobs with Justice. Smiley has been with Jobs with Justice for over 15 years. Prior to joining the organization, she worked at a number of unions and community-based organizations. During the episode, we spoke about a variety of topics including the need to go beyond the red state/blue state view of today’s politics and gain a better appreciation of the nuances within all of the states. In addition, Smiley advocated analyzing organizing prospects through the lens of what has been a state’s (or region’s) history with democracy and collective bargaining infrastructure. She closed by talking about the importance of developing a vibrant vision for democracy in order to building social movements with broader political horizons.
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Bill Lucy: At the crossroads of labor, Black power & civil rights

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In this sixth episode of Black Work Talk, host Steven Pitts welcomes William A. Lucy. Bill retired in 2010 after over 50 years in the leadership of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Union (AFSCME). Bill talked about his beginnings in the labor movement organizing government workers in Contra Costa County (CA). He later represented the national staff of AFSCME during the campaign of the Memphis sanitation workers and Bill discussed some of those lessons. As a co-founder of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Bill provided insights on the relationship between Black unionists, the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, and the labor movement during the 60s and 70s. We closed by discussing what suggestions he would rely to young Black unionists today.