A. Philip Randolph Institute

The A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is an organization for African-American trade unionists.

History

Following passage of the Voting Rights Act, APRI was co-founded in 1965 by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, to forge an alliance between the civil rights movement and the labor movement.

Their efforts got them on the master list of Nixon political opponents.

In 1965, 1,000 black schoolchildren were arrested for attempting to march in front of an Alabama county courthouse. That same year, the A. Philip Randolph Institute was founded. APRI's mission has been to fight for racial equality and economic justice. The role of APRI was to work with black trade unionists, and build a bridge between labor and black communities. APRI was also the spearhead for an organization called the "Black Alliance", and together they would support the trade union movement. APRI has 150 chapters in 36 states. APRI members support political, community education, lobbying, and labor support activities.

A. Philip Randolph

AsaPhilip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the American labor movement, and socialist political parties.

He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly African American labor union. In the early Civil Rights Movement, Randolph led the March on Washington Movement, which convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941, banning discrimination in the defense industries during World War II. The group then successfully pressured President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9981 in 1948, ending segregation in the armed services.

In 1963, Randolph was the head of the March on Washington, which was organized by Bayard Rustin, at which Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech. Randolph inspired the Freedom budget, sometimes called the "Randolph Freedom budget", which aimed to deal with the economic problems facing the black community.