JLC and Anti-Extremism Workshop in St. Louis at AFL-CIO Quadrennial Convention
New England JLC Director Marya Axner and (l-r) St. Louis Islamic Foundation leader; Dr. Ghazala Hayat, AFSCME Local 199 President Se'Adoreia "CeeCee" Brown; Interfaith Worker Justice policy advisor Julian Medrano
October 23, 2017: St. Louis, MO -- As part of the quadrennial AFL-CIO National Convention in St. Louis in October, we helped to create and staff a "post-Charlottesville" workshop on racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. On October 23, 2017, more than 40 national delegates -- including Native American, Latino/a and African-American attendees -- heard presentations by JLC President Stuart Appelbaum and New England JLC Regional Director Marya Axner. Other speakers included St. Louis Islamic Foundation leader Dr. Ghazala Hayat, AFSCME Local 199 President Se'Adoreia "CeeCee" Brown, and Interfaith Worker Justice policy advisor Julian Medrano. AFSCME President Lee Saunders attended the workshop.
Mr. Appelbaum opened the workshop, calling for attendees to speak out and stand strong whenever racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or other expressions of bigotry or identity-hatred rear their heads. Ms. Axner spoke about the history of anti-Semitism and its current manifestations. She pointed out that anti-Semitism has long been used to divert workers from uniting to fight for their rights and address the problems of economic inequality.
