What to the Black Man or Woman is Labor Day?

Apologies to Frederick Douglass for paraphrasing the title of his famous speech, "<a href="https://medium.com/black-history-month-365/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-db22f64163e7" rel="noopener">What to the Slave is the Fourth of July</a>?" As was the case with the Fourth of July holiday, Black people didn't share equally in the holiday's creation. We start with the origin of Labor Day. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. It was organized by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Labor_Union" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Central Labor Union</a>, which later evolved into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL-CIO" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">AFL-CIO</a>—between 10,000–20,000 members marched through lower Manhattan in a parade celebrating the contribution of labor in building America. Labor Day celebrations spread quickly through America. At the same time, labor strikes, organized opposition, and violence against workers occurred. <a href="https://medium.com/afrosapiophile/what-to-the-black-man-or-woman-is-labor-day-bed2625f6581">Read More</a>