Product Code Database
Frank Rudolph Crosswaith (July 16, 1892 – June 17, 1965) was a West Indian-born American Socialist politician, activist and trade union organizer in New York City who founded and chaired the Negro Labor Committee from 1935 until his death in 1965. He was also appointed the first Black member of the New York City Housing Authority, serving from 1942 to 1958.
In the early 1930s Crosswaith worked as an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, which became one of the major supporters of the Negro Labor Committee.
In 1934, Crosswaith co-founded and chaired the Harlem Labor Committee (HLC), which he tried to align with the American Federation of Labor (AFL), then seeking African-American members.
On July 20, 1935, the Negro Labor Conference established the Negro Labor Committee, with Crosswaith elected as chairman.
Crosswaith was an Anti-communism and believed that the best hope for Black workers in the United States was to join bona fide labor unions just as the best hope for the American labor movement was to welcome Black workers into unions in order to promote solidarity and eliminate the use of Black workers as . He believed strongly that "separation of workers by race would only work to undermine the strength of the entire labor movement." Crosswaith spent much of his energy in the late 1930s and early 1940s battling a rival labor organization called the Harlem Labor Union, Inc., which was run by Ira Kemp and had a Black nationalist philosophy. He accused Kemp of undermining the interests of Black workers by signing agreements with employers that offered them labor at wages below union rates.
Crosswaith also worked with A. Philip Randolph during World War II in organizing the March on Washington Movement, which was called off when President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to sign Executive Order 8802, which prohibited racial discrimination in defense industries.
In 1942, Crosswaith was appointed by New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia to the New York City Housing Authority, the first Black man to join the body. He served until 1958.
Crosswaith was known as the "Negro Debs" (after Eugene V. Debs).
On Crosswaith, Robert Fay wrote: "Crosswaith, a Socialist, sought to ally African American workers with white workers under the banner of class. Thus, he opposed African American leaders who believed in racial alliance alone."
Additional information on Crosswaith may be found in the Negro Labor Committee Records held by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City.
Political career
Crosswaith ran for Congress nine times between 1922 and 1940, as well as for Secretary of State of New York in 1924, State Assembly in 1931, President of the Board of Aldermen in 1933, New York City Comptroller in 1937, and New York City Council in 1939. The majority of these were under the Socialist Party ticket, but his run for City Council and his last Congressional run were under the American Labor Party ticket.
Death and legacy
Crosswaith died at his home in New York City on June 17, 1965.
Works
External links
Categories: 1892 Births, 1965 Deaths, 20th-century African-american People, African-american Trade Unionists, American Labor Party Politicians, American People Of United States Virgin Islands Descent, Fiorello La Guardia Political Appointees, International Ladies Garment Workers Union Leaders, People From Saint Croix, U.s. Virgin Islands, Socialist Party Of America Politicians From New York, 20th-century American Trade Unionists
|
|
