Presentation
A Black History Program: African Americans and Labor
Read Time: 2 minsMember Courtney Joiner (Baton Rouge) presented “A Black History Program: African Americans and Labor” on February 21, 2025, as part of the Black History Program at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) in the Bayou Pointe Event Center.
Joiner’s presentation highlighted members of the civil rights movement, who he said are usually overlooked, and their contributions to labor and industry. He spoke about Constance Baker Motley, the first black woman to serve as a federal judge and argue a case before the Supreme Court, as well as Frederick McKinley Jones, an inventor who was honored with the National Medal of Technology.
“They’re relatively unknown figures compared to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X’s, but their contributions to the civil rights movement were just as instrumental as those two figures as well. So, I thought it was important to highlight individuals that hadn’t been highlighted historically.”
KNOE-TV8 covered the event and more can be found here.
Courtney currently serves as an adjunct instructor in the ULM Criminal Justice Department. He earned both his B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where he was also a student-athlete, competing in football and track.
“The Black History Program is essential to our campus because it fosters a deeper understanding of the rich cultural contributions, resilience, and achievements of black communities. It creates a space for reflection, celebration, and dialogue, helping us build a more inclusive and informed campus community,” said Gina White, Director of the ULM Office of Global and Multicultural Affairs.
This year’s Black History Month theme is “African Americans and Labor.” According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, “The 2025 Black History Month theme, “African Americans and Labor,” focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.” The ASALH website continues, “The theme intends to encourage broad reflections on intersections between Black people’s work and their workplaces in all their iterations and key moments, themes, and events in Black history and culture across time and space and throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora.”