February is Black History Month, a time to reflect on and honor the history, contributions, and culture of the Black community.
Despite the current administration’s efforts to erase this annual observation as part of its assault on all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, we remain committed to lifting up Black voices and fighting for justice for all, including in our health care system.1
The theme of this year’s Black History Month is African Americans and Labor, focusing on the impacts and experiences of Black people’s work, including free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary labor over hundreds of years.
This year is also the 100th anniversary of the first majority-Black workers union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids, founded in 1925 by labor organizer and civil rights activist A. Phillip Randolph with workers from the Pullman Company, a railroad manufacturer. The organization went on to become the first Black union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor in 1937.
Not only did Randolph help create this union, but he also served as head of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the most important political rallies in U.S. history, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to more than 250,000 civil rights supporters. In late 1962, Randolph’s emphasis on economic justice — ensuring ALL people have what they need to live — was further incorporated into Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign, which called for economic and human rights for poor people of diverse backgrounds.
While much progress has been made in the way of civil rights since the original March on Washington, the struggle is ongoing and we continue to work toward the unfinished goals of this march, including affordable housing, quality public education, jobs with living wages, and health care for all.
Medicare for All would help achieve the goal of guaranteeing health care for every person in the United States regardless of their race, income, gender, job status, location, or other background. By providing health care free at the point of service for all, paid for by a system of progressive taxation, this legislation would go a long way in establishing true health care justice across our country.
Today, we’re continuing to build the momentum to pass Medicare for All in Congress, while fighting back against immediate threats to our public health care system.
In solidarity,
Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All
Sources:
1 - Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other 'special observances'
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