Civilrights.org

Tomorrow, February 11, is White Shirt Day, a day to honor workers who participated in a 1937 strike that led to the unionization of the entire U.S. auto industry.

In 1948, Bert Christenson, a member of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, started the tradition of wearing white shirts every February 11 as a way to commemorate the end of the Flint Sit-Down Strike. White shirts are worn to show that "blue-collar" workers deserve the same respect and recognition as their "white-collar," management counterparts.

The Flint Sit-Down strike began on December 30, 1936, at a General Motors Corporation (GM) plant in Flint, Mich., and ended 44 days later on February 11, 1937. A "sit-down" strike is when workers physically take over a plant or factory and keep management out until the workers' demands are met.

At the time, the UAW was less than two years old and very small.  Union leaders decided the only way to unionize all U.S. autoworkers would be to go after GM, which was then the largest car company in the country. They choose the Flint plant because it was one of only two GM factories that produced the dies needed to make car body components at other factories. This would keep GM from simply moving production to another one of their factories.

The agreement between GM and the UAW that ended the strike gave the UAW sole bargaining rights for all GM workers, and eventually led to the unionization of the entire auto industry. Today, the UAW has more than 500,000 members, and is one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. 

Wear your white shirt tomorrow to honor the Flint strikers and all union workers.

On February 1, 1960, four African American students made history when they sat down at a "whites-only" lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. This afternoon, I and two fellow LCCR/EF interns visited the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., to reflect on this historic event.

The museum display contains a section of the actual Woolworth’s lunch counter, the site of a sit-in and boycott that lasted nearly six months and brought national attention to segregation in the South.

Despite the historic impact of this protest, I found the lunch counter itself to be ordinary. Nevertheless, the lackluster seats provided context for introspection: I realized that the importance of the event did not stem from its location. Rather, the normalcy of the scene highlighted the uncommon accomplishment of the four individuals whose actions launched a fight for equality and inspired similar protests in 15 cities in nine states across the country.

On Saturday morning, several hundred parishioners and guests gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., for bacon, eggs, and celebration.  

The prayer breakfast, organized by the Brotherhood of Shiloh Men, is an annual event held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year, the cause for celebration was extended to the imminent inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, spoke at the event, lauding the work of Dr. King and the election of President-elect Obama, but also reminding listeners that there are still obstacles of iniquity to overcome:

“If ever there was a time to remember Dr. King and all of the Moses generation, it is right now, at this historic moment – this mountaintop moment. The struggles that took us to this moment offer the inspiration, teach the lessons, and chart the course that will take us forward from this moment…

That road has been rocky. But our ideals are enduring. From this mountaintop, we can see the hardships that we have survived and the history that we are making. And, more than ever before, we have reason to believe that we as a people – and we as a nation – will reach the promised land.”

As Inauguration Day approaches, we are reminded that social justice activism has been integral in helping us reach this historical moment. But our work is not done; we urge you to renew your commitment to social justice by working in your own community to address inequity.

Throughout the country, LCCR and LCCREF work with local groups that are shining examples of how to create change on a local level. This past year, we partnered with the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance to organize a successful conference that brought immigrants, African Americans and Asians together to discuss how to build a more unified Mississippi.

And in Colorado, we partnered with Colorado Unity, a statewide coalition that educated voters about the importance of equal opportunity and made Colorado the first state to defeat an anti-equal opportunity ballot initiative.

Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service — an opportunity for you to honor Dr. King's teachings of nonviolence and social justice by volunteering in your community, not just during this historic week but throughout the year.

LCCR President Wade Henderson was on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer last night to talk about the passing of civil rights folk singer Odetta.

Odetta was a key figure in the folk music movement of the 1960s and 1970s, releasing dozens of albums and performing across the country, including singing "O Freedom" at the March on Washington in 1963.