Statement on the passing of Nat LaCour

It is with deep sorrow AFT-Maryland shares the passing of Nat LaCour. Nat was a high school teacher in New Orleans and got his start as a union leader who was at the forefront of school integration in New Orleans. Additionally, Nat was the first Executive Vice President AFT and Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus of the national federation. His fingerprints are all over the public sector labor movement as he was a pioneering giant on issues of workers' rights as well as racial justice. Nat continued to push AFT to lead on racial equality in school districts across the country, in public health care, as well as in public employment.

Closer to home, we loved and respected Nat for his heroic work as a union leader, but we also got to know the tender side of the man as he was husband to Connie Goodly-LaCour who served the Baltimore Teachers Union for a number of years as Executive Assistant to the President. If necessary, Nat would lend a helping hand or word of advice to any AFT-Maryland local leader should we need it. This kindness and generosity extended to the numerous other organizations where Nat was a board member. He was a board member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and the Albert Shanker Institute, and during the Clinton administration was appointed by President Clinton to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. His gift for organizing and leadership was respected across the country and around the globe.

Given how close Connie was to so many in the AFT-Maryland family, losing Nat in many ways feels like losing one of our own. Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with Connie and the rest of the family during this period of mourning. We will forever remember the legacy of Nat LaCour.

View the Nat LaCour In Memoriam video at AFT's YouTube channel.

 

2020-10-13