Posted: Thursday, 29 January 2009

February 2009 marks Black History Month also known as African Heritage Month. It is a month to acknowledge the history, legacy and global contributions of those with ancestral roots in Africa. The mass relocation of black Africans can largely be attributed to the colour coded power of the trans-Atlantic slave trade which forcibly removed upwards of 10 million Africans over three centuries from their continental home to work as slaves in European colonies.

One of the children of these slaves was Dr. Carter Woodsworth, who fought to establish an annual recognition of this legacy and to honour the achievements of the black community. What began as an annual week of recognition in 1926, has become a month to recognize the past and present contributions made by those with African or Caribbean ancestry.

The Canadian labour movement has benefited enormously from the contributions of black workers who advocate for social and political changes that benefit all Canadians. These contributions were a significant part of the CLC's Anti-Racism Task Force work dating back to the late 1990's and we continue to see their impacts today. Be it the voices of workers demanding recognition of Canada's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade; to pursuing a reparations agenda; or participating in the United Nations World Conference on Racism, or tirelessly challenging systemic discrimination in our workplaces, and within Canada's education, justice, social service or immigration systems - this community has always been a significant source of inspiration, strength and power.

The Canadian Labour Congress joins in the many and deserving tributes to Black Canadians being made this month and encourages workers to reflect on how the colour of power is changing around the world.

This past year a black man, with ancestral roots in Kenya, sparked a nation to say "Yes, we can!" and the door to the U.S. presidency opened to what many hope will be social change we can believe in.

Yet change is a slow process. Today, while one black man sits in the White House, another black man, and a Canadian citizen remains stranded in Sudan, Africa.

In 2003, Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik went to visit his ailing mother in Khartoum. Based on unproven allegations of family connections to parties involved in Sudan's long standing civil war, he was arrested, jailed and tortured by Sudanese officials. Legal teams have since revealed documents exposing Canadian government officials had not only requested his imprisonment but also issued orders denying him consular assistance while he faced interrogation.

To this date he has never been charged and though eventually released from jail, he remains unable to return to Canada because this Conservative government refuses to return his passport, nor provide assistance to challenge his questionable status on the U.S. No Fly list. A list with over 1 million names and at least a million questions of accuracy and credibility.
Another Canadian citizen with African ancestry, Bashir Makhtal, was illegally detained in Kenya in January 2007 and handed over to Ethiopian authorities in what media reports have suggested was a rendition-style detention aided by western intelligence. Bashir faces a death sentence and has not had access to a lawyer for two years now.
Canada's diplomats relied for months on an intermediary to gauge the welfare of its detained Canadian citizen; critics have described the attempts to help Makhtal by this Conservative government as "pathetic".

In a tragic twist of overzealous trans-Atlantic national security, these black Canadians are now marooned within their ancestral homes and enduring gross judicial injustices.

Changing the colour of power is a slow process, but it is possible. Workers understand making such change happen requires solidarity, courage and tenacity.

In Canada during the 1940's despite a growing manufacturing sector, black workers were few in numbers and when they did receive manufacturing jobs they were concentrated in the dirtiest, dangerous and most gruelling parts of the industrial process. The situation only changed with the work of black labour activists like Bromley Armstrong. Bromley and other labour and human rights activists used creativity and tenacity in the struggle to end a colour coded system that exploited and excluded blacks from good jobs, accommodation and access to services such as being served in restaurants.

This was a long struggle to change the colour of power, but it led to the introduction of legislation like the Ontario Fair Employment Practices Act and a Federal Fair Employment Practices Act. These pieces of legislation forced employers to end a long legacy of discriminatory hiring practices and finally in 1953, for the first time in its history, manufacturing giants of the time like Chrysler Canada finally hired black men to work on its assembly lines.i

Challenging colour coded corporate power remains a contemporary struggle for black workers. Unionized food and beverage workers in Nigeria have been protesting a long pattern of exploitation by their Swiss based employer Nestlé Corporation at its Agbara factory in Ogun state. These workers put down their tools over a wage issue that resulted in a situation where every December they would go home with negative salaries, making them unable to meet their obligations to their families. Union officials who protested the employer's action were sacked. The union movement is demanding their reinstatement and an end to the colonial pattern of economic injustice of the workers.
Like their African ancestors who fought slavery, courage, tenacity and solidarity to see justice done are the tools that today's labour activists will never put down-no matter if the struggle for justice is in Sudan, Ethiopia, or workplaces in Canada.

The Canadian Labour Congress joins with its 3.2 million members across Canada this month to recognize, honour, and celebrate the contributions of all black Canadians in our collective struggle to change the colour of power-past, present, and future.

Do you know a black union member making a positive difference in your workplace or community? Share your story with the CLC so that during Black History month we can feature union member stories that are changing the colour of power. Send your story to anti-racism@clc-ctc.ca