Black American Steelworkers, Erased
Black American steelworkers’ story and their history must be preserved. Their sacrifice and struggle against apartheid-like conditions in the steel mills and communities surrounding them are rarely if ever mentioned.
Mainstream media’s intentional ignorance towards Black American working-class men and women persists and often negates the especially important, valuable contributions that Black American men and women had made to the steel industry.
The little-known history of Black American steelworkers is a story of racism, grueling work combined with heart-breaking discrimination and unfulfilled potential. It is the story of skilled ex-slaves who worked in iron mills of the South. Originally recruited by employers to break the strikes of Northern steelworkers, they faced second-class conditions, the hostility of white workers and their unions.
Since they were often the highest-paying jobs available to Black American workers, these same workers were given the toughest, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs the so-called “man-killing” jobs.
