In 1619, a ship brought enslaved people from Africa to Virginia. For years, Black men and women were forced to work without pay. Once the United States banned slavery in 1865, African Americans continued to work to shape society. Black History Month is a time to remember their impact. The 2025 theme is “African Americans and Labor.”
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) creates the theme for Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson founded the group in 1915. Then he launched “Negro History Week” in 1926 to help people learn about the contributions of Black Americans. The event later grew into “Black History Month.”
The ASALH said work is “at the center of much of Black history and culture.” And it described ways that Black Americans have worked. That includes labor that is “free and unfree” and “skilled and unskilled.” The ASALH listed jobs in the government, at private companies, and in public service. It said that labor can be “community building” — such as fighting for social justice.
Zebulon Miletsky teaches African American history. And he works with ASALH. He said Black labor includes slavery. “It was ,” he explained. “But it’s still labor.” Added Miletsky: “The work we do with our hands and our bodies has importance.”
Millions of African Americans worked on farms after slavery. Black women often helped support new mothers. And many worked as teachers. They also played a key role in the U.S. military.
More than 1 million Black people served the United States during World War II. They fought on the battlefield and flew planes. They worked as welders and built equipment.
However, Miletsky said the workplace was not always fair to Black workers. “A lot of labor unions African Americans,” he explained. “That forced a lot of Black laborers to start their own unions.” Leaders like A. Philip Randolph helped Black workers get fair treatment (and higher pay) in the 1900s.
Black workers still fight for fair labor today. Chris Smalls organized a protest against Amazon in 2020. Smalls said the company did not treat its workers safely. He led the first U.S. labor victory against Amazon.
Miletsky told News-O-Matic that “labor” means much more than a job. “You’re talking about people’s lives, their families, their ability to put food on the table,” he explained. “One job makes a huge difference.”
Black Americans continue to play an important role in the American workplace. Yet Miletsky said the work for equity is not over. As he said, “We have a fight ahead of us.”
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated January 31, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
