[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1886-E1887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF CLEVELAND L. ROBINSON

                                 ______


                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 1995

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Cleveland L. 
Robinson, distinguished leader of the trade union movement and fighter 
for economic and civil rights. Indeed, he spent his life working for 
the poor and for those who have the least. Mr. Robinson's life is a 
great example of leadership for the new generation. Mr. Robinson passed 
away on August 23, 1995, and was buried in New York. In honor of Mr. 
Robinson and for the edification of my colleagues. I introduce the 
following statement:

                         Cleveland L. Robinson

       Cleveland Lowellyn Robinson was born December 12, 1914, in 
     Swaby Hope, a rural parish of Manchester, in Jamaica. He 
     worked as an assistant teacher and then as a police officer 
     until he emigrated to the United States in 1914.
       Cleve, as he was known to all, began his union career in 
     the United States in 1946, when he successfully led an effort 
     to unionize the Manhattan dry goods company, where he worked. 
     He joined the staff of District 65 as an organizer in 1947, 
     was elected vice-president of the union in 1950 and 
     secretary-treasury in 1952, a post he held until his 
     retirement in 1992. During the 1950s and 1960s, Cleve led the 
     Negro Affairs Committee, supervised the union's work in the 
     south, and led its adult literacy and vocational education 
     programs.
       During the fifties, he worked with A. Philip Randolph to 
     found the Negro American Labor Council and become the 
     council's president upon Randolph's retirement in 1966. Cleve 
     was a charter member of the organization's successor, the 
     National Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and served as 
     CBTU's executive vice-president until his death.
       Cleve was a close friend and advisor to the late Dr. Martin 
     Luther King, Jr. in 1963, Cleve served as the administrative 
     chair for the great March on Washington. Cleve's work 
     epitomized the union's philosophical and organizational 
     commitment to civil rights that led King to describe District 
     65 as ``the conscience of the labor movement.'' Cleve also 
     served as a commissioner of the New York City Commission on 
     Human Rights under Mayors Wagner and Lindsay. He was a life 
     member of the NAACP since 1953, and a member of the boards of 
     directors of the southern Christian Leadership Conference and 
     the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Non-Violent Social 
     Change. He was a founding member of the New York State Martin 
     Luther King, Jr. Commission, appointed by Governor Mario 
     Cuomo as the commission's vice-chairman in 1985 and the 
     chairman in 1993.
       Cleve was also a staunch supporter of the African National 
     Congress since the early 1960s and a close friend of the 
     Congress of South Africa Trade Unions [COSATU]. He was a 
     founder of the Labor Committee Against Apartheid Coordinating 
     Council, and co-chair of the official visit of Nelson Mandela 
     to New York in 1990.
       Cleve continually maintained close ties to his native 
     Jamaica, organizing relief efforts 

[[Page E 1887]]
     for hurricane victims and other support projects. The government of 
     Jamaica bestowed upon him numerous honors, including the 
     coveted Independence Day Award in 1992.
       In 1993, Cleve was made an Honorary doctor of Humane 
     Letters by Brooklyn College of the City University of New 
     York.
       Cleveland Robinson was an indefatigable organizer and 
     champion of workers' economic and civil rights for over forty 
     years. He dedicated his life's work to the realization of Dr. 
     King's ``beloved community.'' His work was not deterred by 
     the loss of his eyesight to glaucoma during the 1960s. It was 
     often said that Cleve may have lost his sight, but that he 
     was a man of great vision.
       He is survived by his beloved family, his wife of 18 years, 
     the former Doreen McPherson; his sister, Myra Sinclair; his 
     sons, Winston and Noel, and daughter-in-law, Lucille; his 
     daughter, Barbara Stuart; and six grandchildren. His first 
     wife, Susan Jenkins Robinson, passed away in 1970.

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