Dr. William “Bill” Lucy dies at age 90

Dr. William Lucy died at the age of 90 on Sept. 25, 2024. Born in Memphis, TN, on Nov. 26, 1933, Lucy was considered one of the most influential people in the labor movement. Lucy was an American trade union leader who spent his life fighting for the dignity and rights of African American laborers. “Bill Lucy was a courageous labor leader who dedicated his life bending the arc of history toward justice,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “No matter the title or the place, he worked tirelessly to advance civil rights and labor rights for all Americans, changing the course of history and redeeming the soul of America.” Lucy had intended to study civil engineering at the University of California at Berkeley but instead focused his time and energy on advocating for the rights of Black workers. He went on to make global impacts in the world of labor and economic justice, including coining the mantra “I Am a Man,” which became the rallying cry African Americans were fighting for equality in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, according to a press release. He also founded and was president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, which...