In Black Labor Week’s second year, the event’s founder, Ephrin Jenkins, worried it would be the last. He believed the event wasn’t doing enough for the community and that it was a failure.
Now, Jenkins, founder and executive director of Black Labor Week Project Inc., is preparing for the event’s 14th year celebrating union workers in Northwest Indiana.
Black Labor Week is a group of various discussions, panels and volunteer events that show the importance of the Black community in labor unions.
“The initial start of Black Labor Week was due to racism that we were actually experiencing at that particular moment,” Jenkins said. “Instead of trying to get into arguments and everything, I chose the road to create something that will benefit the Black community through the labor movement.”
Events are scheduled Monday through Friday, including educational volunteering, panel discussions at Indiana University Northwest and a Celebration of Civil Rights Gala at Dynasty Banquet Hall in Hammond. The Civil Rights Gala will feature a keynote speaker.
For a full list of activities, event flyers and additional information, or to register for events or the gala, email unapologetic@blwproject.org.
This year’s keynote speaker is Kevon Stewart, District 6 director of the United Steelworkers. Stewart is the first Black district director in USW history, Jenkins said.
“I believe what he will bring is the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we need to organize, especially in our communities when it comes to labor,’” Jenkins said. “Organizing within a Black community, those jobs coming to a Black community creates a better quality of life for us all around.”
IUN is hosting two panel discussions — a Black Male Discussion at 5 p.m. Tuesday and a Black Women Empowerment Seminar at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The panels are split so they can have separate conversations about what men and women face within labor unions. Black Labor Week had only a women’s panel until about five years into the weeklong event.
Jenkins believes having two discussions creates an opportunity for the best conversation for everyone interested.
“I wanted the community to actually benefit without being distracted because of a bias or anything like that,” he said. “Just to eliminate any biases, I wanted to keep them separate.”
Bernard Jenkins, Ephrin Jenkins’ brother, said his favorite part of Black Labor Week is the panel discussions. He likes hearing people’s different viewpoints and hearing the conversations.
“It’s cool to see people engaged and talk about these different things,” Bernard Jenkins said. “I like to hear how we can come together and create change within the community.”
Ephrin Jenkins’ favorite part of Black Labor Week is working with the schools, especially the Day of Education, which will start at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and visit 15 schools from Gary to Chicago.
Volunteers will talk about Black history and Black labor history and will find mentor opportunities within the schools.
Ephrin Jenkins likes to talk with the students and see the potential they have. He thinks hearing people talk about labor unions opens more opportunities for students.
“Sometimes the kids feel special when you just come and show up,” Ephrin Jenkins said. “You can make an immediate impact on these kids, and the best thing about it is that these kids can make a crazy impact on you, too.”
Bernard Jenkins has helped with Black Labor Week since its start. His favorite part of the event is watching people of all ages and backgrounds come together.
“It’s really cool to see how people from different races and everything can just come together, put their differences to the side and make something happen in the community,” Bernard Jenkins said.
It’s been a blessing to watch his brother create Black Labor Week and watch it grow, Bernard Jenkins said. He’s known his brother has potential to do great things, and he believes the weeklong event shows that.
He’s also liked watching people embrace the event. They see hundreds of people attend events throughout the week, and Bernard Jenkins said it’s powerful to watch the community stand behind Black labor.
“It puts a light on advocacy that needs to be done in these communities that are lacking resources,” Bernard Jenkins said. “I’ve loved seeing the organization grow and the impact over the years.”
