Sir William Alexander Bustamante ONH GBE PC was a Jamaican politician and trade union leader who became the first Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1962. He was born William Alexander Clarke on February 24, 1884, to Mary Clarke and Robert Constantine Clarke. Bustamante attended primary … Read MoreAlexander Bustamante (1884-1977)
Rory Gamble is the first Black president of the United Auto Workers. His term as president began in 2019, and expires in 2022. The union has over 390,000 active members. Because he was the son of an auto worker who was also a union representative, … Read MoreRory Gamble (1955- )
South African career trade unionist Lucy Buyaphi Mvubelo was a leading figure in the movement to improve conditions for workers in South Africa, although she saw that campaign as separate from the anti-Apartheid Movement. Lucy Mvubelo was born on January 20, 1920 in Spes Bona, … Read MoreLucy Buyaphi Mvubelo (née Twala) (1920-2000)
In 1968 Dorothy Bolden transformed domestic workers’ rights by founding the National Domestic Worker’s Union of America (NDWUA). Employed as a domestic for more than 40 years, Bolden created a union to promote their interests. The NDWUA helped domestic workers gain better wages, better conditions, … Read MoreDorothy Lee Bolden (1924-2005)
Cyril Ramaphosa is South African businessman and politician who is also the fifth president of South Africa and a member of the African National Congress (ANC), beginning his term on February 15, 2018. Ramaphosa is ranked the 21st wealthiest African in the world with an estimated value of … Read MoreCyril Ramaphosa (1952- )
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) “Image Ownership: Cfiles-aflcio“ Labor leader Tefere Gebre fled Ethiopia at fourteen years of age, moved to the United States, and was elected years later, in 2013, executive vice president of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial … Read MoreTefere Gebre (1968–)
Ewart Guinier, labor activist and political candidate, was the first chairman of Harvard University’s Afro-American Studies Department. Born in Panama in 1910, Guinier migrated to the United States in 1925 and attended high school in Boston, Massachusetts. After his acceptance into the Harvard University Class … Read MoreEwart Guinier (1910-1990)
Ben Gross is a legendary civil rights and union activist in San Jose, California and the surrounding Silicon Valley. Gross was born and raised in McGehee, Arkansas in 1921. In Arkansas, Gross lived under Jim Crow Laws (legal segregation) and picked cotton during the Great … Read MoreBen Gross (1921- )
James Thomas Rapier was a Republican representative from the state of Alabama elected to the 43rd United States Congress. Rapier was born on November 13, 1837 in Florence, Alabama and attended high school in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1856 at the age of 19 he traveled … Read MoreJames Thomas Rapier (1837-1883)
Tyree Scott was a Seattle civil rights and labor leader who opened the door to women and minority workers in the construction industry. Scott was born in Hearne (Wharton County), Texas and before moving to Seattle in 1966, he served in the U. S. Marine … Read MoreTyree Scott (1940-2003)
