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OP-ED: FDA — Smoking While Black and Brown in America

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Our experiences inform us that the implementation of a menthol ban will inevitably and undoubtedly create an increased number of stops, frisks, and interactions between law enforcement and members from Black and Brown communities. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black and Brown residents in the U.S. continue to have a long and troubled legacy of disproportionately larger numbers of police stops and interactions with the police. The proposed menthol ban will do nothing to quell this troubling reality.
The post OP-ED: FDA — Smoking While Black and Brown in America first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 years ago

April 5, 2022

Oakland Post

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

Whenever the history of racial discrimination in the United States appears to repeat itself, it produces predictable rhymes and sometimes tragic social consequences. Mark Twain, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison all had one thing in common as visionary authors. They used their pens to offer literary critiques about America’s historical inflection points concerning racism and systemic inequalities.

The federal government’s recent announcement that it is close to proscribing a ban on menthol cigarettes is another public policy gone astray that will produce unintended racial-discriminatory consequences. As a result of a decades-long marketing campaign aimed at African Americans, nearly 85% of all non-Hispanic Black smokers choose menthol cigarettes, the highest percentage of menthol cigarette use compared to other racial and ethnic groups. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be questioned about their disparate targeting of African American and Latino-American smokers who disproportionately prefer to smoke menthol cigarettes. This is an urgent matter now that the FDA has just asked the government’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review the proposed discriminatory ban.

Driving while Black and Brown, jogging while Black and Brown, and breathing while Black and Brown have had, at times, fatal consequences intergenerationally for women, men, and youth from our communities. Now, our families and communities will have to contend additionally with smoking while Black and Brown in America.

For the record, I do not smoke tobacco or marijuana. I am raising questions, however, to the FDA and to the U.S. Congress because I care passionately about protecting the civil rights and cultural rights of communities of color. We should learn from the past about how to avoid racial injustice rather than to entertain the repetition of pseudo-justifications of wrongdoing and counterproductive public policies that disparage communities of color.

Recalling back in the 1980s and 1990s there was the prevalence of the availability and use of crack cocaine that swept severe drug-related suffering in urban areas across the nation. Because of decades of White flight and self-segregation, those same inner-city areas were disproportionately populated by Black and Brown families. The result was another regrettable chapter in American history when crack cocaine ravaged our communities.

The subsequent response from the federal government was neither compassion nor empathy. Rather, the U.S. Congress passed the now-infamous 1994 Crime Bill, which treated the possession of crack cocaine disproportionately harsher in the criminal justice system than powder cocaine, which was more expensive and more commonly used by White drug users. Too many communities of color were once again devastated by the unjust massive long-term imprisonment of crack cocaine users for decades that literally destroyed families and left hundreds of thousands of children without parents while escalating mass incarceration of Black and Brown people to an unprecedented national level.

It is, therefore, against this historical backdrop that we find anew the recent contradictory announcement by the Biden Administration’s FDA. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 85% of Black and Brown smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. While there may be compelling public health concerns that can be cited to support proposing a ban on smoking cigarettes, the question arises why the FDA only wants to target and ban “menthol” cigarettes that are disproportionately used and preferred by Black and Brown smokers. Law enforcement agencies, similar to what happened by law enforcement in response to the crack cocaine epidemic, will ultimately have to enforce the proposed ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes.

In addition, serious concerns today abound among national and local law enforcement leaders that a prohibition of these particular tobacco products will only end up dramatically increasing an illicit, underground market for these menthol products. I am certain that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will rightly oppose any public policy by the FDA that will lead to further substantial border insecurity from the future billion-dollar illicit smuggling of proposed menthol-banned tobacco products into the United States. Another serious unintended consequence will be the illegal trafficking of FDA-banned cigarettes by international terrorists who will profit millions of dollars from that illicit trade.

I write, therefore, on behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the Black Press of America that have been “pleading our own cause” since March 16, 1827 with the first publication of Freedom’s Journal 195 years ago. Our concerns are not hypothetical and do not exist in a vacuum.

Our experiences inform us that the implementation of a menthol ban will inevitably and undoubtedly create an increased number of stops, frisks, and interactions between law enforcement and members from Black and Brown communities. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black and Brown residents in the U.S. continue to have a long and troubled legacy of disproportionately larger numbers of police stops and interactions with the police. The proposed menthol ban will do nothing to quell this troubling reality.

Moreover, there is data to suggest that a prohibition on the sale of menthol cigarettes would not meet the proposed ban’s intended goal. According to a report by the United States Surgeon General, published in 2020, “the evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to infer that restricting the sale of certain types of tobacco products, such as menthol or other flavored products, increases smoking cessation, especially among certain populations.” Indeed, a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research echoes this concern and suggests that a prohibition on menthol cigarettes is “unlikely to be a panacea,” because while the product may be prohibited in Canada, it is available on Native Canadian reserves, and still available for purchase throughout Mexico.

On his first day in The White House, President Biden signed the Executive Order (13985) on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. That was a much-needed federal corrective action taken by President Biden. Notwithstanding those facts, it has become a noticeable contradiction for the FDA to now embark on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with respect to a menthol ban tentatively scheduled for April 2022.

What are some of the possible alternative options for the FDA and for the U.S. Congress with respect to menthol cigarettes? One option is for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of the FDA to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and additional relevant entities (including representatives of community organizations that have been historically underrepresented in the Federal Government and underserved by, subject to discrimination in, Federal policies and programs) to conduct a national study on the impact of a menthol ban would have on:

the frequency of adverse law enforcement interactions with members of communities of color, underserved and other discriminated communities
the illicit sale of counterfeit cigarettes in communities of color, underserved and other discriminated communities, and
the likelihood that counterfeit cigarettes illicitly sold in communities of color, underserved and other discriminated communities would contain a mixture of lethal substances in excess of the toxins found in ordinary commercially approved cigarettes

There are other options in addition to the stated above proposal that I am confident can and should be explored by both the U.S. Congress and the FDA. What should be prohibited at this point should be all forms of racial profiling and targeting. Smoking while Black and Brown should not be the predicate for more negative disastrous interactions between law enforcement and our communities who have already suffered too much. I recently had the honor to attend a national meeting of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Black police chiefs and other Black law enforcement executives from across the nation voiced their concerns about the negative, disparate and dangerous unintended consequences of the proposed FDA ban on menthol cigarettes.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is currently the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles television show that is broadcast weekly on PBS TV stations throughout the United States.

The post OP-ED: FDA — Smoking While Black and Brown in America first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

3 days ago

February 27, 2026

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Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,

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Reflecting on Black History Milestones in Birmingham AL

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — As we bring Black History Month to a close here’s a look at some historic Birmingham milestones since the city’s founding.

Published

3 days ago

February 27, 2026

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Compiled by The Birmingham Times

As we bring Black History Month to a close here’s a look at some historic Birmingham milestones since the city’s founding.

1871—City of Birmingham founded; now the state’s most populous city, Birmingham was established at the crossing of two rail lines near one of the world’s richest mineral deposits.

1885—Birmingham Barons baseball team originally established as Birmingham Coal Barons.

1890—The Penny Savings Bank, founded by the Rev. William Reuben Pettiford in Birmingham, opens, becoming the first Black-owned and Black-operated financial institution in Alabama.

1902—Woodward Building, construction completed on the first of four steel-frame skyscrapers that would make up Birmingham’s “Heaviest Corner on Earth.”

The Tuggle Institute, a boarding school for African American children in Birmingham Alabama, pictured in 1906. (Public Domain)

1903 —Social worker Carrie A. Tuggle opens the Tuggle Institute and School, the first orphan home in Alabama for African American boys. The Institute operated until Tuggle’s death on Nov. 5, 1924, and was later renamed Tuggle Elementary School in 1936.

1904 —Vulcan Statue, the world’s largest cast-iron statue, created as Birmingham’s entry in the St. Louis World’s Fair, was sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti.

1914—Birmingham’s Lyric Theatre was established as one of the first in the South where Black and white audiences could see the same show for the same price, though Black sat in an isolated section with inferior accommodations

1918—Birmingham College and Southern University merged to establish Birmingham-Southern College.

1925—The Pittsburgh of the South, Birmingham, is the largest cast iron and steel producer in the Southern U.S.

The Slossfield Community Center campus included a health clinic, a maternity ward, a recreational center, and an education building. The complex was built between 1936 and 1939 by ACIPCO (American Cast Iron Pipe Company). (National Archives Record Group 69-N)

1939—Slossfield Health Clinic, located in a neighborhood surrounding ACIPCO’s plant, considered one of Birmingham’s most blighted, opens.

1941—The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) assume responsibility for a small health clinic in the predominantly African American community of Ensley near Birmingham, Alabama. The clinic later becomes Holy Family Hospital.

1941—World War II. The demand for steel during the war brought Birmingham out of the Great Depression.

1948—Slossfield’s medical center closes in 1948 after World War II. The rest of the Slossfield Community Center campus closed in 1954.

1951—Birmingham Museum of Art, currently home to one of the finest collections in the Southeast, with extensive holdings from around the globe dating from ancient to modern times, opens.

1954—A.G. Gaston Motel founded by entrepreneur and activist A.G. Gaston to provide higher-class service to Black visitors.

The Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth and other local Black ministers established the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) during a mass meeting at Birmingham’s Sardis Baptist Church. (File)

1956—The home of Birmingham minister and Civil Rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth is bombed. Although the structure is severely damaged, Shuttlesworth emerges uninjured.

During a mass meeting at Birmingham’s Sardis Baptist Church, Shuttlesworth and other local Black ministers establish the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR). Founded in response to the State of Alabama’s eight-year ban on the NAACP, ACMHR was central to the civil rights movement in Birmingham.
The Freedom Riders arrive at the Greyhound bus terminal in Montgomery, where they are attacked by an angry mob. The Freedom Ride, an integrated bus trip from Washington, D.C., through the Deep South, was formed to test the 1960 Supreme Court decision prohibiting segregation in bus and train terminal facilities.

1963—After previously establishing the ACMHR and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Shuttlesworth invites Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Birmingham to lead what becomes the Birmingham Campaign for Desegregation. King writes Letter From Birmingham Jail.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was bombed, killing four young girls in an attack against the Civil Rights Movement and humanity.

1966—Oscar Adams Jr. becomes the first African American to join the Birmingham Bar Association.

1968—Arthur Shores was appointed to the Birmingham City Council, making him the first African American to serve as a councilman.

1970—The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCNs) transfer ownership of Holy Family Hospital to a local non-profit organization, which was renamed Community Hospital. By 1986, the facility was sold and operated as Medical Park West until its closing in 1988. The facility would briefly reopen in 1989 as Community Hospital with 22 beds, only to close it down for good soon thereafter.

1974—J. Richmond Pearson and U.W. Clemon were the first African Americans elected to the Alabama State Senate since Reconstruction.

Richard Arrington. (File)

1979—Richard Arrington Jr. was elected as the first African American mayor of Birmingham. Arrington served in that post for nearly 20 years, until his resignation in July 1999.

1980—Oscar Adams Jr. was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court, making him the first African American justice to hold that office.

1984—J. Mason Davis becomes the first African American president of the Birmingham Bar Association. He is also the first minority adjunct professor at The University of Alabama School of Law, serving from 1972 to 1997.

1986—Reuben Davis and Chris McNair were elected to the County Commission, the first district by district election, and are the first African Americans to serve on the commission.

1991—Carole Smitherman appointed to become the first African American woman to serve as a circuit court judge in Alabama

1992—Birmingham Civil Rights Institute opens its doors at Kelly Ingram Park in the Civil Rights District.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. (File)

1993—Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame opens.

2002—Shelia Smoot elected first Black female Jefferson County Commissioner.

2003—Helen Shores Lee becomes the first African American woman to serve as a judge on the Jefferson County Circuit Court.

2005—Condoleezza Rice, a Birmingham native, is named U.S. Secretary of State.

2008-11—Jefferson County and creditors attempt to reach a settlement of the $3.14 billion sewer debt, but any deal would need to erase $1 billion or more of that debt.

2009—Carole Smitherman becomes Birmingham’s first African American female mayor.

2010—Railroad Park, a 19-acre park, opened, becoming a catalyst for revitalization in downtown Birmingham

2011—A massive storm in April, causing numerous powerful tornadoes, rips through the southeastern United States, killing 250 people in Alabama, including 20 people in Jefferson County communities of Pleasant Grove (10), Concord (6), Cahaba Heights (1), Pratt City (1), Forestdale (1), and McDonald Chapel (1).

In 2012 the Jefferson County Commission voted 3-2 to close the inpatient care unit and emergency room at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital. (File)

2012—Cooper Green Mercy Hospital downsized. The Jefferson County Commission votes 3-2 to close the inpatient care unit and emergency room at Cooper Green following weeks of debate and protests from community leaders who have begged the county to continue operating the facility for the sick and poor.

2016—Lynneice Washington elected District Attorney for the Bessemer Cutoff, the first African American DA in the state of Alabama.

2016—Theo Lawson was named the first African American Jefferson County attorney.

2016—Representative Terri Sewell introduces legislation leading to Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument designation by presidential proclamation one year later.

2017—John Henry joins the Jefferson County Commission Finance Department and becomes the county’s first Black chief financial officer.

2017—Danny Carr and Mark Pettway were elected the county’s first Black district attorney and first Black sheriff, respectively.

2019—Walter Gonsoulin was named the first permanent African American superintendent of the Jefferson County School System

2020—Felicia Rucker-Sumerlin was named the first female Deputy Chief in the 200-year history of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

2020—Elisabeth French becomes the first woman selected to serve as Presiding Judge in Jefferson County’s 200-year history. She will oversee the 10th Judicial Circuit, the largest in Alabama’s Judicial System.

2021—Ashley M. Jones, founder of the Magic City Poetry Festival, is named Poet Laureate for Alabama, making her the first Black Poet Laureate for the state and the youngest person to hold the position.

2022—Dr. Adolphus Jackson of Birmingham is elected President of the Alabama Dental Association, the first African American to serve as president of the state Association.

2022—Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin issues a proclamation declaring March 18 Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Day, the 100th anniversary of the leader’s birth.

2023—Writer and educator Salaam Green becomes the city’s first poet laureate.

2024—Democrats Yashiba “Red” Blanchard and Jameria Moore on Tuesday became the first Black female judges elected to Probate Court in Jefferson County, Alabama.

2024—Myrna Carter Jackson, a Birmingham civic leader and Foot Soldier who participated in marches, sit-ins, demonstrations, and other Civil Rights activities, dies. She was 82.

2024—Hezekiah Jackson IV, who served as president of the Metro Birmingham NAACP, Birmingham Citizens Advisory Board, and the Inglenook Neighborhood Association, dies. He was 65.

For decades, Bishop Calvin Woods Sr., was one of Birmingham’s leading voices for equality. (File)

2025—Judge Carole Smitherman retires after 50 years in law and politics in Birmingham, including being the first Black woman hired as a deputy district attorney in Jefferson County and becoming the city’s first Black woman municipal and circuit court judge.

2025—Bishop Calvin Woods Sr., distinguished Birmingham Civil Rights leader and longtime pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Norwood, dies. He was 91.

2025—Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. accepts the prestigious 202d L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award at the downtown Sheraton.

2026—Claudette Colvin, who refused to move to a bus seat at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, dies at 86. Homegoing celebration was held at Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in SW Birmingham.

Source: The Birmingham Times, 1963: How The Birmingham Civil Rights Movement Changed America and the World; City of Birmingham Public Library; Associated Press; blackpast.org; Politics and Welfare in Birmingham, 1900–1975.

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OP-ED: One Hundred Years of Black Workers Telling the Truth

NNPA NEWSWIRE — … history provides a framework for understanding what happened in Minnesota this January, when Black journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested after covering a protest inside a church opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area. The message was unmistakable: documenting dissent can itself be treated as a crime.

Published

4 days ago

February 26, 2026

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By Fred Redmond, Secretary Treasurer AFL-CIO

In 1917, A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen launched The Messenger, a pro-labor, anti-war magazine that connected racism to exploitation and demanded justice for Black workers. Two years later, the federal government responded with tactics of targeted censorship—surveillance, harassment and threats of prosecution—and branded a small Black labor magazine “the most dangerous” publication in the country simply for encouraging Black workers to organize.

More than a century later, two highly respected Black journalists—Don Lemon and Georgia Fort—are handcuffed and indicted for filming a protest inside a church. The tools have changed, but the oppressive government playbook has not.

That continuity matters as we mark 100 years since the launch of Negro History Week, founded in February 1926 by Carter G. Woodson. Negro History Week rejected the lie that Black people had no history worth teaching and no role worth remembering. It challenged an education system that erased Black achievement and a public narrative that treated Black people as a problem, not a people. What later became Black History Month grew from that project of memory and resistance. From its earliest days, Black history celebrations were about more than remembrance. They also were acts of resistance, challenging the ongoing use of law, fear and surveillance to silence Black workers and suppress the truth about power in this country.

That pairing matters: The birth of Negro History Week alongside the rise of an apparatus built to monitor and suppress Black labor dissent. The same government that denied Black people their history also treated them as a threat when they spoke collectively as workers. When Black workers asserted their right to organize and be heard, they faced not just employer retaliation, but state repression.

Randolph went on to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black-led union, and was under constant federal surveillance. As Black workers organized in factories, on farms and in service jobs across the country, local police and FBI “Red Squads” and federal counterintelligence programs infiltrated meetings, built massive files, and worked to neutralize leaders who linked racial justice to workplace democracy.

That history provides a framework for understanding what happened in Minnesota this January, when Black journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested after covering a protest inside a church opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area. The message was unmistakable: documenting dissent can itself be treated as a crime.

At the same time, major media outlets are shrinking their newsrooms and walking away from race coverage. The Washington Post recently laid off some 300 journalists, including race and ethnicity reporters. In late 2025, NBC News shuttered entire teams dedicated to covering Black, Latino and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander stories. In Pittsburgh, the 240‑year‑old Post‑Gazette is being shut down by its owners, who responded to a court order requiring them to honor The NewsGuild‑CWA (TNG-CWA) journalists’ contract after years of striking. When powerful newsrooms dismantle the very beats created after 2020 to cover racism and inequality, they send a different version of the same message: some truths about power are no longer welcome.

The National Writers Union said the arrests “set a disastrous precedent for press freedom in the United States,” and the National Association of Black Journalists called on the government to “halt all retaliatory posture toward journalists.” SAG‑AFTRA has condemned the arrests of Fort and Lemon, a member, and unions like TNG‑CWA are warning that union‑busting, mass layoffs, and criminal charges against journalists are part of the same effort to make it dangerous for workers to tell the truth.

This Black History Month, the labor movement must be clear: the right to organize and the right to dissent stand or fall together. There is no freedom of association if workers cannot gather, speak and be heard. When Black journalists are criminalized for documenting protest, the real target is the possibility of multiracial worker power. If true worker power and economic dignity are to have a future, it will be because the labor movement continues to refuse that silence.

The AFL-CIO recognizes that the same tactics used to quash Black voices are used to suppress all our voices—on shop floors, in independent media, in the streets, on picket lines and in places of worship. We stand with our union brothers, sisters and siblings in insisting that the First Amendment is a right and a core worker protection, not a luxury.

A century ago, Woodson insisted that Black people had a history worth telling and Randolph told Black workers they deserved more than exploitation. The government tried to silence them. This Black History Month, the question remains the same: Will Black truth tellers be honored or handcuffed?

The labor movement’s answer must be clear. We stand with Black workers and Black journalists in their right to dissent, to document, and to demand a better future.

Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history, is the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, representing 64 unions and nearly 15 million workers.