AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond delivered the following remarks as prepared, virtually, to the National Black Law Students Association:
Thank you, for that warm introduction Nick [Hall].
Hello, everyone, I’m Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer at the AFL-CIO.
We are 57 unions strong with nearly 13 million working people from every kind of background working in every kind of job.
Thanks to Sidnee McDonald, NBLSA National Director of Career and Professional Development, and Craig Becker, AFL-CIO General Counsel, for their leadership putting this program together
And I want to recognize the amazing leadership of Simone Yhap, Chair of the National Black Law Students Association.
I want to recognize all of you.
NBLSA is impressive. Not just because you’re one of the largest student-run organizations in the country.
Not just because you have chapters at every major law school.
But because of your mission.
Culturally responsible.
Black law students who are going to change the legal community.
Now look, you’re already on your way to doing that.
Because right now, when a Black person walks into a courtroom, what is the chance the judge or the defense attorney or the prosecuting attorney looks like them?
Slim at best.
There are some 1.3 million licensed attorneys in the United States…about 5% are Black, 88% are white.
Yet Blacks make up 13% of the American population. Whites 60%.
What effect does this underrepresentation have not only on an individual’s day in court but on our criminal justice system?
What effect does this underrepresentation have on the legislation that moves through our courthouses and statehouses and on Capitol Hill?
What effect does this underrepresentation have on the regulations staff attorneys research and draft and revise and implement?
Many of the laws that impact whole communities are written and considered and voted upon without the diversity of thought…without the diversity of perspective.
Diversity is the cornerstone of democracy. Without it, it’s not a democracy at all.
And I’m not talking about laws meant to limit our power and limit our voice.
Voter suppression laws.
Gerrymandering and redistricting laws.
Right to work laws.
Laws intended to discriminate…to criminalize based on the color of our skin or where we live or who we choose to love.
Laws intended to confine power and wealth in the hands of the few.
I’m talking about the laws and regulations that move through our system designed with good intentions, for the best outcomes…but because there isn’t a diversity of minds and lived experiences, these laws and regulations miss the mark. Or have unequal or unintended outcomes for whole communities.
Laws and regulations unwittingly amplify discrimination by using data and algorithms where historical discrimination and implicit bias are baked in. These systems decide who is qualified for a job…or who can buy a home and where.
It’s like we have gone from a version of Jim Crow to a version of James Crow.
This is what some 6 million Black people learned when they migrated north seeking opportunity in the Great Migration.
My parents were part of it.
They left the oppressive laws and regulations in the segregated South when they moved to Chicago in 1958.
But what really happened is they went from overt segregation in the South to covert segregation in the North.
Where deed restrictions meant white homeowners couldn’t sell their home to Black people, even if they wanted to.
Where red-lining was policy. The government would not back mortgages in Black neighborhoods.
Blacks could not get a mortgage, build generational wealth, live a solid middle-class life.
The Fair Housing Act changed that…made it unlawful to discriminate in the terms or conditions or privileges of a home sale.
Everything we claim as progress was gained through incremental steps.
We need to preserve our victories and beat back new attacks. And the labor movement is the single most effective force for progress in this country.
Wages and benefits. Safety and health. Collective bargaining agreements. The ability to put food on the table, to have time to take care of our loved ones, and retire with dignity.
Good and stable jobs are key to good and stable communities.
Of course, we are products of our society. And unions are no different.
In fact, when the AFL and CIO merged in 1955, Black workers were largely shut out of craft unions. The skilled trades. Some of the unions had clauses in their constitutions excluding non-whites. Some local unions were segregated.
The labor movement evolved. How? With Black trade unions. With Black union leadership.
The full scope and range of diversity and perspective.
The labor movement built the Black middle class. In auto factories and steel plants. We turned bad jobs into good careers.
And today, the most urgent racial and social justice issues run right through the labor movement.
Economic justice.
Gender justice.
Voting rights and strengthening democracy.
Guaranteeing a path to citizenship for immigrants.
All of these issues are critical to making sure that working people live a dignified life both inside and outside of the workplace.
That we have access to the best opportunities for ourselves and our families.
So what does this have to do with you?
The ULA started this relationship as part of our effort to diversify the labor bar. To attract good lawyers willing to make a difference in our society…and in our movement.
We need you to use your skills, passion and knowledge to level the playing field and make sure that everyone, no matter who they are, can have a good life.
And I suspect that is why many of you chose to go to law school. To help make this country more fair…to stamp out inequality and injustice….to lend the voiceless a voice.
There is always a place for you in the labor movement. Our doors are wide open. I’m looking at this crowd right now. I can’t wait to see who among you is going to rise to the challenge.
Thank you.