Blacks and the Unions

For the better part of a century following the abolition of slavery blacks continued to play an unenviable role within the labor force. Because they were excluded to a considerable degree from the unions by racial practices, both black leaders and the masses of black workers had little use for the labor movement; some regarded employers as their best allies. But these ostensible allies took advantage of the racial rift within the work force to use blacks as a cheap alternative to white labor ...