Were Unions a Form of White Affirmative Action?

In Search of Black Power

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A common argument among the left is that cross-class multi-racial organizing is the key to defeating capitalism and inequity in general, with unions being the most potent tool to accomplish this task.
In Part 2 of our examination of Ira Katznelson's book "When Affirmative Action Was White", we analyze his argument that Northern unions and the political allies acquiesced to Dixiecrat demands for the exclusion of southern Blacks during New Deal expansions of union rights. This created an environment where white benefitted more from unions and thus furthering the racial wealth and power gaps. This jives with other scholarship which challenges narratives of interracial unionism as inherently progressive and reframed it as a tool of potential social control of Black workers by White led unions.
Finally, we conclude with recommendations on how Black communities can build political infrastructure to support address unemployment and underemployment given the limits of interracial unionism and the likely curtailing of Affirmative Action.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).
The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)