Labor Recognition & Invitations to Action

The ACPA25 Convention Planning Team recognizes “that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development throughout history and across time, has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their ascendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic trafficking of their people, chattel slavery, and Jim Crow” (Stewart, 2021, para. 5). These unresolved injustices reverberate to this day – including within higher and postsecondary education – in the systemic disregard for and exploitation of the labor of multiple minoritized communities, particularly that of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

These same communities have led many historic movements for labor justice, including here in California where we gather for the ACPA25 Convention. We call particular attention to Black labor and leadership as our gathering takes place during Black History Month, the theme of which for this year is “African Americans and Labor.”

We invite all Convention participants to engage in an active process of recognizing and honoring the past and present labor which make our gathering possible. Such action can take many forms, including but not limited to:

  • Respecting intellectual labor by appropriately citing sources in Convention programming, with particular care to avoid erasing BIPOC and other minoritized scholar-practitioners from their own work
  • Engaging with Convention programming relevant to labor histories, including those with a focus on healing from intergenerational trauma
  • Recognizing the multiple forms of volunteer labor provided year-round by ACPA members and our International Office staff to lead the association and advance our goals and values
  • Honoring our own labor as convention attendees, acknowledging that the kinds and amount of labor required for participation is shaped by our social group memberships and positionalities
  • Demonstrating appreciation for the local laborers working in our Convention facilities and venues and the greater Long Beach community to make our collective ACPA25 experience a positive one.

Learning Resources

Labor Acknowledgements

Stewart, T. J. (2021, February 24). On labor acknowledgements and honoring the sacrifice of Black Americans. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/african-american/article/15108677/on-labor-acknowledgements-and-honoring-the-sacrifice-of-black-americans

Student Affairs Now episode, From Labor Acknowledgements to Labor Commitments, hosted by Dr. Keith Edwards and featuring Dr. Joan Collier, Dr. Laila McCloud, and Dr. T.J. Stewart

Examples of institutional labor acknowledgments

Labor History in California

The California Federation of Labor Unions maintains the California Labor History Archives.

The National Park Service published a History of Black Americans in California, in which employment and labor issues are addressed throughout.