To mark Black History Month, Ann Toback, CEO of the Workers Circle released this statement:
February 1, 2024
Black History Month is a model for how commemoration, celebration and education can inspire us to deepen solidarity and catalyze justice. Our own Workers Circle history — complete with all the moments of pride, struggle and challenges — is a vital resource allowing us to reflect on and renew our commitment to the cause of racial justice.
Holding our country and its leadership accountable to its Constitutional commitment to defend the rights and freedoms of its Black citizens has been a responsibility the Workers Circle has staunchly upheld throughout its history. From its allyship with Black Labor in the Twenties and its participation in integrated Civil Rights mobilizations in the Fifties, to the relationships of trust it built with Civil Rights leadership in the Sixties, as well as the scores of eager delegates it sent to the historic March on Washington in ’63 and to Selma in ‘64, up to today.
In 2024 the Workers Circle embarks on a new initiative in collaboration with Black Voters Matter: the Black and Jewish Partnership for Democracy. Inspired by our history of working in concert with Black organizing, this partnership is a groundbreaking voting rights campaign to counter the issue of voter suppression, increase voting power in Black communities, and to mobilize all people to build a strong, inclusive American democracy.
We believe the power of solidarity is stronger than those who seek to divide us and destroy our democracy. Together, we march forward for that better and more beautiful world for all.
About the Workers Circle
The Workers Circle is a national, secular, Jewish social justice organization founded by Eastern European immigrants who came to the United States fleeing autocracy and persecution, and seeking democratic freedoms and economic opportunities at the turn of the 20th century. That history drives our work for an inclusive democracy and human equality today. Our activism is rooted in 1,000 years of Yiddish culture and tradition. Through strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, and interactive educational programs, we power a multi-generational community of activists that is building “a better and more beautiful world for all.” Learn more at www.circle.org.