The 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans, and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all intersects with the collective experiences of Black people. This Guide places special emphasis on the following fields: agriculture and farming, entrepreneurship, education, and the armed services.
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Original Image Sources: City Club of Chicago, Same Passage, History, Black Then, Oxygen, NPCA, Wikipedia, Essence, and Southern Worker
Pictured left to right: Karen Lewis, Lucinda Todd, Booker T. Washington, Addie L. Wyatt, Bayard Rustin, Mary McLeod Bethune, A. Philip Randolph, Chris Smalls, and Jaribu Hill
The 2025 Black History Month theme, "African Americans and Labor," emphasizes the central role of Black labor—encompassing free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary work—in shaping Black history and culture. From agricultural labor during enslavement to leadership in labor movements, African Americans have been instrumental in the nation's development.
-ASALH 2025
Karen Lewis: An educator and union leader, Lewis was the president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and played a significant role in advocating for teachers' rights and public education reform.
Lucinda Todd: Todd was a teacher and civil rights activist. She was one of the plaintiffs in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case that led to the desegregation of public schools in the United States.
Booker T. Washington: An educator, author, orator, and advisor to several U.S. presidents, Washington was one of the leading African-American figures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the founder of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) and advocated for African-American advancement through education and entrepreneurship.
Addie L. Wyatt: A labor leader, civil rights advocate, and women’s rights activist. Wyatt was one of the first African-American women to hold a senior position in a major labor union and was deeply involved in fighting for workers' rights and equality.
Bayard Rustin: A civil rights activist and key strategist for the Civil Rights Movement. Rustin was a leading organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He was also a strong advocate for labor rights and social justice.
Mary McLeod Bethune: An educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian, and civil rights activist, Bethune was a prominent leader in the African-American community. She founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, which later became Bethune-Cookman University.
A. Philip Randolph: A prominent labor leader and civil rights activist. Randolph founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly African-American labor union, and played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement, including the organization of the March on Washington.
Chris Smalls: A labor organizer and the president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). Smalls led efforts to organize Amazon workers in Staten Island, advocating for better working conditions and workers' rights.
Jaribu Hill: A lawyer, human rights activist, and labor organizer. Hill is known for her work in advancing social justice and empowering labor unions, particularly in the Southern United States.