The Knights of Labor was the largest labor union in the United States in the 19th century. It was founded on the principle of solidarity between all workers. They believed in cooperation pushing America forward and worked to make this a reality.
Black workers were believed to be docile, which ignored our people’s strength in revolutionary capabilities. However, to many southern whites’ dismay, Black people were increasingly organizing for their labor rights.
By 1886, over 60,000 Black workers were members of the Knights of Labor. The Knights saw our numbers as an added strength to their movement, but many Black Knights questioned if the movement would include a fight for racial equality especially as forces formed to stop our union participation.
Fighting racial oppression was important to Black Knight members because the majority of Black members lived in the south where agricultural work was king. Many Knights of Labor assemblies in the south still excluded Black people. Our ancestors decided to stick together to accomplish labor and racial rights goals.
Our ancestors didn’t follow the Knights of labor blindly. They used them to their advantage to fight for their workers rights, and refused to be pushed aside or forgotten.