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Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was a Jamaican-born American labor organizer and
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
activist. He was a key figure in the 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
, for which he acted as the Chairman of the Administrative Committee.


Life

Cleveland Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, in
Manchester Parish The Parish of Manchester () is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its Capital (political), capital, Mandeville, Jamaica, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross ...
, Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1944. When he arrived, he took a job in a
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65. In 1947 he owned his own shop; he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and later in 1952 became secretary-treasurer. He held that position until he retired in 1992. When District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union, Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After disagreements with the retail, wholesale and department store workers union District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America and Robinson was elected president of the new body. In 1981, District 65 was affiliated with the
United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
. At that time the union had 33,000 members in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. In 1957, he participated in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. He was the chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
. In September 1972, he helped to found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), successor organization to the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), and served as its first vice-president. Robinson suffered from glaucoma for many years, and was legally blind by 1970. His level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations. Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995. His papers are held by the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.


Family

His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson; they had two sons and a daughter. When she died in 1976, he married Doreen McPherson Robinson.


References


External links


Cleveland Robinson, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
*http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n19_v88/ai_17445399 * Alkalimat, Abdul. The African American Experience in Cyberspace. Pluto Press, 1994.
Cleveland Robinson Papers
at Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Cleveland Lowellyn American trade union leaders Jamaican emigrants to the United States Deaths from kidney failure in New York (state) 1914 births 1995 deaths American blind people Coalition of Black Trade Unionists people People from Manchester Parish Trade unionists from New York (state) Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union people