The Wichita NAACP Blog: Join us April 4th for the "We Are One... Standing in solidarity with Labor" rally

Profile in Courage: Dr. Ronald W Walters

As the President of the Wichita NAACP Youth Council in July of 1958, Dr. Walters led the group as they conducted the first successful student-led sit-in of the Civil Rights movement. Sit-Ins were not an approved tactic of the NAACP in 1958 so when the Branch and Youth council asked for the support of the National Office, they were turned down. It required an extraordinary amount of courage for Ron as the Youth President and Chester I Lewis, the branch President, to press forward over the objections of the National Office. When the sit-in ended in August of that same year, the Dockum drug store on the corner of Broadway and Douglass in Wichita Kansas was integrated - along with the entire Rexall Drug store chain and all its subsidiaries. Following the success of the Dockum Sit-In, the Oklahoma City Branch Youth Council conducted a sit-in that August. From there, the tactic spread throughout the Midwest. In 1960, a group of young men and women from SNCC conducted a sit-in in Greensboro North Carolina which many mistakenly believe to have been the first... Dr. Walters went on to become known throughout the world for his knowledge of African American politics and leadership. He headed the African American Leadership Institute and Scholar Practitioner Program of the University of Maryland, served as Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. Walters was a dear friend, a supporter, and a mentor, and he will be sorely missed... July 1938 - September 2010

Friday, April 1, 2011

Join us April 4th for the "We Are One... Standing in solidarity with Labor" rally

On April 4th, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers who were standing up and demanding fair treatment and the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life.

Today, that same demand is electrifying people across America. It's the demand of all people - Black, White, Latino, and Asian American: The right to join together to fight for our common dreams.

On Monday, April 4th, Join the Wichita Branch and Kansas NAACP, the Wichita/Hutchison Labor Federation, and the Kansas Chapter of the National Organization for Women as we STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH LABOR.

What: The "WE ARE ONE" Rally
When: April 4th at 7:00pm
Where: Interfaith Ministries (829 N Market St)

The event is free and open to the public

Comments (16)

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Cain · 741 weeks ago

But that was over 40 years ago when there was a need for unions. In 2011 the dynamics of the union and bargining power has changed significantly. Also, there have been a generous number of labor laws that have been passed over the past 40 years that basically prohibit disenfranchisement of workers. Times have changed. This begs the fundamental question, do workers really need unions in 2011? My thinking on this has changed much over the years. I actually was the member of a union years ago. We owe it to ourselves to question and not simply fall in step in with one political party's views. We have done this for too long and it has not gotton us anywhere. That's a whole nother story. Just my friendly observation.

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Kevin Myles 50p · 741 weeks ago

I would argue that there is and there will always be a need for Unions. Changes in Labor laws and working conditions may change what Unions ask for or even what is to be considered reasonable. But "Organized Labor" in and of itself is not a demand - it is a capacity. It is simply a organized grouping of workers, whose skills and numbers afford them the standing to negotiate with Management on a near equal footing. That capacity could be used for any number of things (some noble, some not) But the capacity itself - the ability of blue collar working people to organize and speak up for their own interests; the ability to have a voice in the very companies that their work and labor make profitable, should not be abridged. ANY attempt to muffle or silence their voice is undemocratic...

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fresh essay · 476 weeks ago

The jokiness of the aural month. This month is basically dependent on the first fourth of the year. Where we can say that the first variation can be invisible for every one. If the human being wants to get the first variation of the personal vested as well.

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School in Jakarta · 325 weeks ago

Protests signal to decision makers that the need to be heard has risen above the level of letter writing campaigns and phone calls.

The challenge in many developed countries is that professional opinion management firms pay people to rally and protest to elevate a message, and targets (decision makers, pollsters, etc),know how to measure the impact of professionally staged rallies.

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BethMVega 18p · 325 weeks ago

I like this post because labor are back bone of country economy. I personally believe that everyone should do hard work and participate in country success. It's parents responsibility to teach their child about education and its importance so they can see result of their efforts towards them.

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