In the 1930’s and 1940’s,
African American industrial
workers in the southern United
Line States, who constituted 80 per-
(5) cent of the unskilled factory labor
force there, strongly supported
unionization. While the American
Federation of Labor (AFL) either
excluded African Americans or
(10) maintained racially segregated
unions, the Congress of Industrial
Organizations (CIO) organized
integrated unions nationwide on the
basis of a stated policy of equal
(15) rights for all, and African American
unionists provided the CIO’s backbone.
Yet it can be argued that
through contracts negotiated and
enforced by White union mem-
(20) bers, unions—CIO unions not
excluded—were often instrumental
in maintaining the occupational
segregation and other forms of
racial discrimination that kept
(25) African Americans socially and
economically oppressed during
this period. However, recognizing
employers’ power over workers
as a central factor in African
(30) Americans’ economic marginal
ization, African American workers
saw the need to join with White
workers in seeking change despite
White unionists’ toleration of or
(35) support for racial discrimination.
The persistent efforts of African
American unionists eventually paid
off: many became highly effective
organizers, gaining the respect of
(40) even racist White unionists by winning
victories for White as well as
African American workers. African
American unionists thus succeeded
in strengthening the unions while
(45) using them as instruments of
African Americans’ economic
empowerment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q1: (9-21)
The passage is primarily concerned with
A. demonstrating that unions failed to address the concerns of African American
workers during a particular period
B. arguing that African American workers’ participation in unions during a particular
period was ultimately beneficial to them
C. contrasting the treatment of African American workers by two different labor
organizations during a particular period
D. giving reasons for the success of African American unionists in winning victories
for both African American and White workers during a particular period
E. questioning one explanation for the attitudes of African American workers toward
unionization during a particular period
Answer:B