Retirees attend AFL-CIO’s 2024 “Dr. MLK Jr. Civil & Human Rights Conference”

By Anna Berry, Assoc. Recording Secretary

From Jan. 11-14, 2024, a delegation of DC 37 retirees attended the AFL-CIO’s “Dr. MLK Jr. Civil & Human Rights Conference” in Montgomery, Alabama. The theme for this year’s conference was “Our Voice, Our Ballot, Our Future."

At the opening of the conference, we were welcomed by AFL-CIO Pres. Liz Shuler and Sec.-Treas. Fred Redmond. The conference was well attended, with over 800 participants from different labor unions and states. Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed welcomed and thanked us for having our conference in his hometown.

We had some wonderful guest speakers, such as U.S. Acting Sec. of Labor Julie Su, former Sen. Doug Jones (D.-Alabama), Alabama AFL-CIO Pres. Bren Riley, and Sen. Laphonza Butler (D.-California).

There were workshops on such topics as the fight for voting rights and Dr. King’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” just to name a few. We also watched and had a discussion of the movie “Rustin” about the life of Bayard Rustin, who was an African American leader in social movements for Civil Rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. For video excerpts from the conference, click here.

Community service was held on Saturday, Jan. 13. Buses took us to various communities to assemble disaster boxes, do yardwork, painting, cleanup, organize clothes, write letters to service members, and pack essential needs kits. This is what MLK Day is all about, giving back to the community. The people in the community were very happy to have us there.

We later went on a tour to the Legacy Museum, which tells the story of slavery in America and its legacy, through interactive media, first-person narratives, world-class art, and exhibits. If you are ever in Montgomery, Alabama, this is a must see. Make sure you bring plenty of tissues; it’s definitely a tearjerker.

On Sunday, Jan. 14, we had Church Service, which was very uplifting. The message was “Send me, I’ll go.” Later that night was the Awards Gala Dinner and closing of the conference.

This year’s MLK Jr. conference was one of the best I’ve been to so far. It was informative, enlightening, and enriching. I encourage my sisters and brothers to attend an AFL-CIO MLK Jr. Conference sometime soon, hopefully next year. Remember to VOTE and take others with you to vote. I am thankful for the opportunity to have attended this conference. Photos from the event appear below.

“The time is always right to do what is right” - Martin Luther King Jr.