King, Coretta Scott, 1927-2006

AFSCME Communications Department Records

jruss — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:06:22 -0400

AFSCME has produced a regularly published magazine since its inception. Publication duties for this organ and other materials were accomplished by the Education and Publications Department for the first twenty years of AFSCME’s existence. The 1954 Convention, however, passed Resolution 14, establishing a Publications and Public Relations Department. This new department would continue to publish the AFSCME magazine and other materials and would also take on new media public relations duties both at headquarters, and importantly, in the field. Recognizing that current field staff’s duties did not include crafting AFSCME’s message during organizing campaigns and strikes, it was hoped that the new department would provide skilled public relations professionals on the ground. The new department was created on April 1, 1956. The Publications and Public Relations Department existed until 1971 when the name was changed to the Public Affairs Department. This existed until 2011 when the name was changed again to the Communications Department.

The AFSCME Communications Department Records document the public activities of the Department, AFSCME International, and AFSCME officials. Records include speech transcripts; press releases; surveys and polls; documents related to AFSCME biennial conventions such as transcripts of proceedings, correspondence, and planning documents; correspondence; publications; meeting minutes; clippings; photographs, slides, and negatives; audio and video recordings; and posters.

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records

jruss — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:21:25 -0400

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer oversees the general financial health of the international union, keeping records for its locals, councils, and the headquarters staff. The Office keeps files on council and local trusteeships, maintains per capita dues payments by locals and councils, issues charters to new locals, and suspends and disbands locals or councils when problems arise. William Lucy held this position for 38 years, 1972-2010.

Lucy joined AFSCME as a civil engineer in Contra Costa, CA in 1956. A decade later, he was working for the International in Washington, D.C. Proving his leadership abilities during the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis, during which Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, Lucy became AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in 1972. Alongside his work with AFSCME, Lucy also served with countless labor, civil rights, and civic organizations to advance causes for blacks, women, and workers locally in Washington, D.C., nationally, and internationally. Lucy helped found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) in 1972 to represent African Americans in the labor movement. He was instrumental in the Free South Africa Movement's efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as president of Public Services International (PSI) and as a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. These activities are reflected in the Records. Lucy retired from the position of Secretary-Treasurer in July 2010 at the AFSCME biennial convention.

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records document the activities and operations of AFSCME International, the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer, and AFSCME’s state and local councils. The Records also convey the actions of William Lucy in a number of labor and civil rights organizations, including TransAfrica, the NAACP, CBTU, PSI, and the AFL-CIO. The Records include correspondence, reports, speeches, financial information, legal documents, convention transcripts and proceedings, publications, and meeting minutes. Several boxes of audio recordings of International Executive Board meetings are included, and a very small number of photographs appear in the collection.

1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

scaloia — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:57:03 -0400

Thomas Oliver “T.O.” Jones believed a union for sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee was a necessity. A sanitation worker himself, he experienced the unfair working conditions and accompanying low pay. It was the 1960s and forty percent of full-time Memphis sanitation workers qualified for welfare assistance. The men had to carry heavy trash bins, often leaking waste, from residents’ yards to the trucks in sweltering Memphis heat. Black workers did not read more »

50 Years Later: the Kerner Commission and the Poor People's Campaign

mcourtney — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:36:49 -0500

On February 29, 1968, The Kerner Commission issued its report on the root causes of urban rebellion in the United States. Though the report was a top-down response to inequality, it was not the only response to growing unrest in American cities. That same year, Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. planned the Poor People’s Campaign to address a lack of economic opportunity through grassroots organizing and demonstration. read more »

Memorial Program for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memphis, 1968

scaloia — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 14:42:19 -0400

Program titled "The Service of Memorial and Dedication for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Speakers included Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Coretta Scott King, Bishop J.O. Patterson, Reyes Lopez Tejerina, Rev. B.L. Hooks, and Rev. Samuel B. Kyle.

(357) Doug Fraser, Coretta Scott King, SEMCAP, Detroit, Michigan

eclemens — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:05:07 -0500

Douglas Fraser with Coretta Scott King at the SEMCAP Job Conference, Detroit, Michgian.

(8893) King family, Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:38:54 -0500

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and their children disembark the plane carrying King's body to Atlanta for his funeral. King was assassinated while showing his support for AFSCME Local 1733’s sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis.

(8896) March for King

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:17:14 -0500

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s family leads the memorial march held in Memphis after he was assassinated while showing his support for AFSCME Local 1733’s sanitation workers’ strike. To the right of Coretta Scott King and her children Yolanda, Martin III, and Dexter, are Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rev. Andrew Young.

(11423) 1968 AFSCME Convention

pneirink — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:41:21 -0400

AFSCME leadership and guests, including Organizer P.J. Ciampa, Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Ames, President Jerry Wurf, and Coretta Scott King, lead delegates in song at the 1968 Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

(11425) 1968 AFSCME Convention

pneirink — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:43:58 -0400

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf honors Coretta Scott King a few months after her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while helping to support AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis, TN. Reverend Ralph Abernathy looks on at the 1968 AFSCME Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

(11426) 1968 AFSCME Convention

pneirink — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:45:09 -0400

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf honors Coretta Scott King whose husband Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated a few months earlier while supporting AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis. AFSCME Organizer P.J. Ciampa looks on at the 1968 Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

(11430) 1968 AFSCME Convention

pneirink — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:49:43 -0400

AFSCME leadership and guests (President Jerry Wurf, Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Ames, Coretta Scott King, Reverand Ralph Abernathy, among others) at the 1968 Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

(12102) McEntee against apartheid

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:53:02 -0400

Coretta Scott King listens as AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at a rally against apartheid outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. McEntee was among many protesters later arrested for their demonstrations. This image appeared in the February 1985 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.

(24756) Memorial March for King

jruss — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:46:54 -0400

Labor and civil rights leaders march with the King family in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. a few days after his assassination while supporting striking sanitation workers of AFSCME Local 1733. First row from left: singer, actor, and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte; King’s daughter Yolanda; King’s sons, Martin III and Dexter; King’s widow, Coretta Scott King; Reverend Ralph Abernathy; Reverend Andrew Young; and Rabbi Abraham Heschel. Second row, beginning right of Yolanda: Bishop B. Julian Smith of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; AFSCME President Jerry Wurf; civil rights leader Bayard Rustin; May Reuther and her husband, UAW President Walter Reuther; and AFL-CIO Civil Rights Director Don Slaiman.

(24757) Coretta Scott and Yolanda King

jruss — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:14:53 -0400

Coretta Scott King (left), Martin Luther King, Jr.’s widow, and their daughter Yolanda, sit on the dais in Memphis during a memorial for Martin Luther King, Jr. a few days after his assassination.

(24789) Coretta Scott King supports Local 1

jruss — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:22:41 -0400

Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., supports members of AFSCME Local 1 in Washington, D.C.

(225427) Civil Rights, Demonstrations, "Meredith March Against Fear," Mississippi, 1966

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:06:59 -0400

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads the "Meredith March Against Fear” into Jackson, Mississippi. Mrs. Coretta Scott King holds his hand. UAW president Walter Reuther stands at her right.

The Meredith March Against Fear takes its name from James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi and a student at Columbia Law School, who organized a 220 mile long walk from Memphis, TN to Jackson MS to encourage African Americans to register to vote. On June 6, the second day of the walk, he reached Hernado, MS and was shot in the back by a sniper. Upon hearing of the assault, civil rights campaigners from across the country rushed to Mississippi to finish the march in his name.

(25428) Civil Rights, Demonstrations, "Meredith March Against Fear," Mississippi, 1966

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:04:26 -0400

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads the “Meredith March Against Fear” into Jackson, Mississippi. On his arm is his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

(30581) Coretta Scott King, SEIU / 1199 Healthcre Conference, 1981

aorchard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 10:51:09 -0400

Coretta Scott King addresses the audience at the SEIU / 1199 Healthcare Conference.

(30582) Coretta Scott King, Stevie Wonder, Martin Luther King 20th Anniversary March, 1983

aorchard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:44:54 -0400

Stevie Wonder speaks as Coretta Scott King wistfully looks into the crowd during the Martin Luther King 20th Anniversary March on Washington.

(30583) Coretta Scott King, Ted Kennedy, John Sweeney, 1199 / SEIU Healthcare Conference, 1981

aorchard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:49:37 -0400

Coretta Scott King, Ted Kennedy, John Sweeney, and other chat on stage during the 1199 / SEIU Healthcare Conference.

(30584) Coretta Scott King, Reverend Lowry, Ben Hooks, Martin Luther King March 25th Anniversary, Justice for Janitors, 1988

aorchard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:07:39 -0400

Coretta Scott King, Reverend Lowry, and Ben Hooks at the Martin Luther King 25th Anniversary March and Justice for Janitors event.

(30585) Coretta Scott King, John Sweeney, 1199 / SEIU Healthcare Conference, 1981

aorchard — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:11:27 -0400

Coretta Scott King and John Sweeney chat during the 1199 / SEIU Healthcare Conference.

(31019) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Coretta Scott King, Dexter Scott King, Atlanta, Georgia, 1989

aorchard — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:17:48 -0500

Dexter Scott King watches as Coretta Scott King addresses the crowd during the 1989 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march in Atlanta, Georgia.