National Action Network 2008 National Convention
40 Year Commemorative - Photo Gallery

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John Sweeney

AFL-CIO President

Sharpton praises AFL-CIO's civil rights connections

By David Flaum  Thursday, April 3, 2008 THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL

Leaders of the AFL-CIO laid out labor's economic -- and political -- agenda at the opening of the 10th annual National Action Network convention Wednesday at The Peabody.  Rev. Al Sharpton, network president, said it was fitting that the group hold its convention in Memphis the week the nation honors the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, saying the civil rights movement and labor have been aligned for decades.

"Dr. Martin Luther King was in Memphis on a labor issue (sanitation workers' strike)," Sharpton said, before he introduced AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. "We wanted to make sure we connect with labor and civil rights."  Labor has had a tough 71/2 years, Sweeney told about 120 people at the luncheon, which followed. "We've given more than we've gained."  For example, he said, the U. S. Labor Department has been lax in enforcing wage and hour laws and safety standards. He also accused the National Labor Relations Board of unraveling years of pro-worker legal precedents. "We need to turn around our health care and civil rights," he said. "We need to restore workers' powers." (To Read the Full Story Click Here)

Keeping the dream alive: Action Network honorees focused on King's vision

The award winners were actress Cicely Tyson; Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams, president of Medgar Evers Institute; Earl G. Graves, founder and publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine; Thomas P. DiNapoli, comptroller of the State of New York; William Lucy, founder and president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; and civil-rights pioneer Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. Colgate-Palmolive was the recipient of the Corporate Excellence Award.

More than 700 turned out for the dinner. Mo'Nique, who hosted the event, said, "I know Martin Luther King is in Heaven looking down grinning with Coretta."  After a video introducing National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton, the Miles College Choir performed.  Audience members were equally moved to be at the ceremony two days before the 40th anniversary of King's death in Memphis.  "To me, it's not just the gala, it's civil rights, Martin Luther King and his dream," said Gale Jones Carson, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division's corporate communications director.  She remembered when her mother took her to hear King speak at Mason Temple: "The power in his voice, it went through my whole body." (To Read the Full Story Click Here)