*The A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is celebrated on this date in 1965. They are an organization for African American trade unionists.
APRI uses legal and legislative means to advocate social, labor, and economic change at the state and federal levels. In response to the 1963 Children's Crusade and the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, A. Philip Randolph, former head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, an early black trade union, and Bayard Rustin founded the APRI to ally with the American civil rights movement and the labor movement. These efforts got them on the master list of Nixon's political opponents. Bayard Rustin served as the organization's first president from 1965 to 1979. After which, he became a co-chair of the organization.
APRI describes its mission as a fight for racial equality and economic justice. It works with black trade unionists to build relations between labor and black communities. APRI also spearheaded the "Black Alliance," which would support the trade union movement. APRI has 150 chapters in 36 states. APRI is currently led by National President Clayola Brown, a post she has held since August 2004.
Brown also serves on the boards of Amalgamated Bank and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Business Response to AIDS/Labor Response to AIDS. She was appointed to the National Commission on Employment Policy by President Bill Clinton and appointed a member of the New York State Workforce Investment Board. APRI filed suit against the state of Ohio, charging that its process of purging voter rolls violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Husted v. Randolph Institute in 2017.
