Unions and social justice have gone hand-in-hand for decades. Any organization that’s committed to democracy and fairness in the workplace would logically work to ensure that the rights of all people are upheld. AFT is no different, and the Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights Committee is the arm of the union that works on these issues specifically. It’s with this that a contingency from AFT-Maryland made their way to Montgomery, Alabama for the 2019 AFT Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights Conference.
Led by AFT-Maryland President Marietta English, members from the Baltimore Teachers Union Local 340 and the Baltimore County Federation of Public Health Nurses Local 5102 arrived in Montgomery to take in the annual conference. Attendees attended panels covering topics such as immigration, racism, reproductive rights, and gender identity. These panels explored how members can work to dismantle the systems that cause harm to the most marginalized among us.
A highlight of the conference was a conversation with living legends. Conference goers heard from Doris Dozier Crenshaw, who was an NAACP Youth Coordinator. Recalling her time during the Montgomery Bus Boycott she said, “the more afraid we got, the louder we would sing.” A rally against injustice at the Alabama State Capitol featured a number of modern social justice advocates. Among them were Jitu Brown who heads the Journey for Justice alliance and gave remarks, as did Diana Cournoyer. Cournoyer is executive director of the National Indian Education Association. She noted that Native American women and girls are being stolen and murdered at an alarming rate. She encouraged those in attendance to go home and educate their own communities to advocate for change.
Read more about the conference at AFT.org.
2019-10-21
