— Kim KellyIn 1869, the Colored National Labor Union was formed to represent the unique interests of Black workers who had been shut out of the larger National Labor Union. Its first president, Isaac Myers, was cofounder of the Colored Caulkers Trade Union Society, and its second leader was the indomitable Frederick Douglass, elected in 1872.
Replicated under Fair Use from Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor by Kim Kelly.