cdavis's blog

At the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) International Convention, held in St. Louis, Missouri, May 23-28, 2012, the CBTU membership voted in Terrance (Terry) Melvin as its new President. Terry Melvin is the second president in CBTU’s 40 year history. William (Bill) Lucy had been CBTU president since the organization’s founding in 1972. Lucy also served for 38 years as the Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME before retiring in 2010.  read more »

In honor of Black History Month, we highlight the Dale Rich Collection.

Over fifteen years ago, Mr. Dale Rich, professional photographer, longtime newspaperman, and historian, came to the Reuther Library to research African Americans and labor. As I, Access Archivist Carrolyn Davis, began working with him, he soon showed me hundreds of photographs he had taken over the years of the 2006 Detroit Public School Teachers Strike, of organizing groups supporting the teachers, of himself reenacting a black Civil War solider at the Elmwood Cemetery, and of the Detroit Labor Day Parade, especially the trucks driven by the Teamsters.  read more »