African American Labor Center (AALC) records

This collection documents the African American Labor Center (AALC) and the records from the executive director, Patrick O'Farrell, from 1957 to 1996. The AALC was founded in 1964 as an international extension of the AFL-CIO into a decolonizing Africa, and was incorporated into the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center in 1997. The AALC extended formal funding and support from the AFL-CIO to African trade unionists and organizations in the newly-developed nations, which took the forms of educational workshops, conferences, and training in practical trade union causes such as collective bargaining. Due to the wide scope of the AALC, the institution created an abundance of reports, correspondence, and internal records to document their activities in individual African nations, in Pan-African affairs, and between the United States and Africa. This material covers topics such as AALC projects or grants, educational meetings, conventions, and relationships with African trade union organizations like the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Organization of African Unity, and the Organization of African Trade Unionists.